Pradesh Week 2018!
by BigR3d93
Summary: Pradesh Week 2018 running from August 5-August 11. Prompts include: Shatter; Lick; Summit; Concede; Particular; Huge; Doxy; & Brimstone.
1. Chapter 1: Welcome

Hello Everyone!

After being an avid fanfiction reader for the past several years I am finally getting off my ass an taking my first shot at being a writer.

The inspiration for this move is the amazing fanfiction author Desna and her inspiring creation and incorporation of the Pradesh Family into the Fairy Tail universe. Thank you Desna for introducing such brilliant characters that tie seamlessly into an already much loved fandom.

This is technically not my first time writing fanfiction, but it _is_ my first time publishing it. I am a little intimidated to be posting beside these big names I've seen in the author line-up, but am truly excited to finally be taking this step. I look forward to your reviews, comments, and _constructive_ criticism.

For all you trolls out there, a word of advice:

"Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup."

An additional note, I am currently in the finals week of my summer semester and am under several deadlines. So saying, I will endeavor to finish out all of the prompts but may be late on prompts 6-8 as the muses of creativity have abandoned me in favor of constructing research designs and analyzing internal validity. If they are not posted on those days know that I will eventually post them, it just might take me a little longer depending on time, and my practicum, work, and class schedules.

I hope everyone has fun and enjoys the celebration of the Pradesh Family.

Here are the prompts: [August 5-August 11]

Day 1: Shatter

Day 2: Lick

Day 3: Summit

Day 4: Concede

Day 5: Particular

Day 6: Huge

Day 7: Doxy

Bonus- Day 8: Brimstone

TTFN!

\- JB


	2. Chapter 2: Shatter

**And so it begins… enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer:** **I own nothing. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, and the lovely Pradesh Family is owned by Desna.**

…

 **Prompt: Shatter**

"Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light"

~ Quote by Helen Keller

Bickslow truly loved and hated his magic sometimes.

Sure, there were pros and cons, highs and lows, strengths and weaknesses to any given magic. The mature Seith mage had learned at an early age the invasive and personal nature of his magic. He got to see what no one else could. He could manipulate and compel through sheer desire and will alone.

With his magic, the phrase "The eyes are windows to the soul" was quite literal.

He'd never outwardly expressed his love-hate relationship with his magic to anyone else, though he was fairly certain that cobra and his older brother Kaleb had likely sensed his feelings and thoughts a few times given their own magical affinities toward the mind and soul. Then again, those two probably understood his position better than most would.

Seith magic had deep ties in the both the dark and light histories of magic. It was a rare magic that faced persecution and often incited fear and disgust in those who didn't understand it fully.

It was due to this fear, brought about by the actions of a dark Seith guild in Bosco, which had led to his government condemning those with his magic, resulting in his family having to smuggle him out of the country for his own safety. At the time, he had believed only his family would ever be able to truly love and accept him for who he was. That is… until he'd met and befriended a young, teenage Laxus. The blond lightning mage had accepted him readily enough, and had expressed an interest in his story and magic. Bickslow had accompanied him back to Fairy Tail and the rest was history. Bickslow had since been improving his magic, becoming stronger, and working to abolish the fear and stereotypes surrounding his magic type. That being said, it had been a hard road. It was difficult to address and allay the fears of those around you, especially when they were one's guild mates, if said people were unable to understand how his magic accurately worked in the first place.

He had started to become frustrated at the isolation he and his teammates had faced within the guild. It had to be some joke of the universe that his entire team was composed of the only people who could sympathize and understand his own experiences and motivations due to the similarity to their own. It hadn't gotten them many points with the rest of the guild though, as they had soon become set apart from the others. They had been on the verge of giving up ever being fully accepted for who they were by their guild mates leading up to the Fantasia parade. That was the time when Bickslow had had his first reason to hate his magic.

It had started when he noticed Laxus had become even more withdrawn. Granted, his friend and leader was never a social butterfly, but Bickslow had known something was wrong when the lightning mage had started pulling away from his own team. All it had taken was a brief look, the glow of his eyes hidden by his helmet, and it had taken all of the inner restraint and control for the Seith mage to not cry out his anguish and horror at the sight which had met his eyes. Laxus' soul had deep fissures in it. Branching lines of black stretched across his normally bronze and navy blue colored soul. Now those colors were dampened.

When researching his magic Bickslow had read about 'shattered' souls. Fissures or 'chipping' of the soul were often the result of a traumatic experience or deep personal loss. A mages' individual experiences, feelings, and decisions not only further helped shape who they were, their 'essence' if you will, but it also influenced the depth, growth, and very nature of their magical core. A soul only truly became 'shattered' in appearance for four reasons: 1) when the individual experienced repeated or ongoing hardship; 2) the individual did something that went so far against their own core beliefs and sense of self that their soul literally 'shattered' from the resistant internal shift; 3) discord between magical affinities, or if a mage completely ignores one affinity for another; or 4) a rift was formed in the soul due to an internal conflict— it could be a moral, magical, or spiritual conflict, etc.— and, if left unresolved, the rift would deepen to a point that the stress of holding itself together would basically rip the soul into pieces. Bickslow had come to learn, both from his research and his own experiences that souls, for all of their fragility, were surprisingly hardy, and could heal from almost anything if given time and adequate care. That being said, a 'shattered' soul was one of the hardest things to heal. This was partly due to the fact that it is possible for an individual to have a shattered soul but show no real changes in their outward appearance or actions, thereby making the internal damage hard to detect…unless one had Seith magic. Bickslow had found that this is what made Seith magic so invaluable, as the original purpose of Seith magic was healing.

However, Laxus' soul was the closest he'd ever seen to being 'shattered' that the Seith mage had ever come across. He wasn't entirely sure what to do, though he'd had a good idea of the cause. The lightning mage's avoidance of his recently acknowledged dragon slayer abilities given to him by the lacrima was creating discord within his soul. This discord latched onto his friend's past and current stressors creating a focus that the dissonance with his friend's soul was using as an outlet. Bickslow tried to talk his friend out of his 'take over the guild' idea but was quickly shut down. The Seith mage had only truly backed down after noticing that his arguing against his friend was deepening some of the fissures and forming new ones. Resigning himself to the plan that was set to fail from the start, Bickslow resolved himself to see his leader through this. He would do his best to support his leader, even in his misguided plan, if only to be able to be there to help put him back together on the other side.

It had honestly been a great relief when the blonde celestial mage had beaten him. Granted, his heart had never truly been in the fight, but he hadn't taken it easy on her at all. Following the aftermath of the Fantasia debacle and Laxus being cast out of the guild, Bickslow and the rest of the Raijinshuu would often meet up and check in with their leader on some of their extended jobs. Bickslow had been relieved to see his friend's soul mending itself back together as Laxus gained a better understanding of his own purpose, goals, and sense of identity. The Seith mage had hoped that that would be the last time he saw a soul of a friend or family member in such a horrific state. He hadn't known it was only the beginning.

His sister, Emzadi, was a second generation solar dragon slayer, and the oldest female of her kind. At the age of eleven, her soul had cracked and darkened when she'd accidently killed her childhood crush after he'd sought her out in her first mating season. It had taken two years for it to mend and lighten to its previous state. Two long years of Bickslow constantly sneaking glances and monitoring the healing process of her soul. Then his family had had to smuggle him out of the country to escape persecution for his magic. He'd been worried to the point of nearly making himself ill when word reached him six years later from Bosco that Emzadi's boyfriend, an S-class fire manipulation mage by the name of Shota, had sought her out and engaged her in battle during her mating season; Against Em's numerous explicit warnings to boot. Bickslow had nearly wept upon his first glance of her soul after that. She'd been sent to visit him while their family took care of the legal uproar. Where before there had only been cracks and a darkening of color, his sister's soul had deep, ranching fissures tearing through it. The soul had been heavily scarred and seemed to scream his sibling's grief, anger, and despair. The fine line the soul was riding on; the hairs breadth away it'd been from shattering all together had kept Bickslow on-edge the entire visit, and had him keeping an even closer watch over his sister. It had taken four years this time, for her soul to heal. Even so, he could still spot the barest traces of cracks where the fissures had filled, which attested to the devastation the soul had been dealt. Emzadi had become more careful in her romantic ventures after that.

Then, Tartarus happened. Fairy Tail's disbandment shortly after their defeat of the demon gates had left Bickslow and his team feeling bereft. It had taken almost a week for things to sink in before the Seith mage had been able to form a plan of action. He'd received word from his father soon after news spread of their return from Tenrou Island that the ban on his magic had been lifted. Before leaving for the fateful S-class trials, Bickslow had been arranging to take a month long holiday to Bosco to visit his family and re-connect with his mother country. Needless to say, the unwanted seven year sabbatical had thrown a wrench into those plans.

The rest of his team and Laxus had been considering joining up with Blue Pegasus for a while, but had changed their minds when Bickslow has proposed going to Bosco and joining White Sea. The added bonuses being their admittance was practically guaranteed as his brother was the guild master, and that they would be staying as guests at his father's estate.

This brought him back to the current situation. It had been on his way to meeting up with his team that he saw her. Or rather, saw her soul. It was almost enough to make him weep. Lucy's soul, usually a bright, warm, golden-white, was now grayed and so dim it looked like a puff of air could wipe out the light forever. But that wasn't what had made the Seith mage stop in his tracks. No, that honor belonged to the broken shards and jagged edges he was seeing. Her soul had truly and utterly shattered. The broken piece themselves showed further faults and fissures webbing through and across them, hints of the near future. For an instant, he had been tempted to walk away just so he wouldn't have to see the heartbreaking sight, but quickly pushed it aside as he took in the mage who had offered him open acceptance and forgiveness; Who had discussed his magic with him and understood his connections to the once-lost souls that now followed; Who had opened her heart to him and his team after the events of Fantasia, appreciated his wit, and was unafraid to snark back at him when he deserved it. No, for that strong, willful, loving, sincere, bright mage he would stand his ground and work his magic to empty for as long as it took to pick up the pieces of her soul and mend them whole again. As much as it tore him up to see the soul of someone he cared about in such a state, his heart and his magic would not let him leave them hurting.

Decision made, Bickslow approached the celestial mage where she stood staring at the remains of the Fairy Tail guild hall. When their eyes met, the Seith mage offered a crooked smile, one telling of understanding, acceptance, and comfort. He held out his hand to her, and offered an invitation.

Yes, Bickslow truly loved and hated his magic. For while it made him see and confront the dark cruelties, pains, and sufferings of the world, it also let him see hidden wonders, and gave him the power to heal those miseries.

…

 **Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think :)**

 **Until tomorrow!**

 **JB**


	3. Chapter 3: Lick

**Yay! Day 2 is here!**

 **A Brief Author's note:**

 **Thank you for all of the kind reviews on the last chapter!**

 **I know this chapter is up a day early, but I'm not sure I will have time tomorrow due to having work and class.**

 **Just a quick warning for future chapters, I didn't really plan for them to run as a single continuous story. Some of the chapters may work well together but that is primarily just happenstance.**

 **Additionally, should anyone wish to continue some of these plot lines into longer stories feel free. I only ask that you let me know so that I can enjoy reading them too :)**

 **I would love to be able to expand upon these chapters myself, but with my present schedule that won't be possible anytime soon. Now on to the story…**

 **Disclaimer:** **I own nothing. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, and the lovely Pradesh Family is owned by Desna.**

…

 **Prompt: Lick**

Arman Pradesh smiled to himself upon arriving home just before noon. He now had the next three weeks to spend with his family and celebrate Christmas and New Years without worries of work hanging over him. He had just returned home from the consulate after successfully negotiating another beneficial trade agreement for Bosco with their neighboring country of Minstrel. It had been eight weeks of long, hard hours, and almost constant discussion and mediating between both delegations, but it had been worth it in the long haul. Now the renowned Ambassador was home for the holidays with his secretary under strict orders that he not be disturbed for anything short of the collapse of Boscan society as they knew it or the apocalypse for the next three weeks.

To his knowledge all of his children were home for the break as well. His oldest son, Farron, had taken his own leave from the consulate two days prior at his father's urging. Kaleb, his first and oldest adopted son, had returned the night before after being initiated into Bosco's largest guild, White Sea. The thirteen year old mind-bender mage was schedule to begin his training for initiation into the Boscan military. All the rest of his younger adopted children had finished their morning lessons by now, and were likely plying their chef, Mr. Elan, for treats before their lunch, or were outsides roughhousing in the large expansive yard that stretched out to meet the Grass Sea.

Upon entering his home the decorated Ambassador paused at the silence which reached his ears. Cautiously shutting the engraved oak door behind him, he made his way stealthily to the kitchen. Turning into the culinary abode of his esteemed chef, Arman was drawn up short by a chocolate covered whisk being leveled at his eyes. Following the brandished cook ware to the hand wielding it he raised a brow at the sight of his equally startled chef.

"My greatest apologies, Sir!" Elan started, quickly pulling back his impromptu weapon, only to be waved off by his employer.

"I take it that the hungry masses had to be fought off?" The Ambassador chuckled in amusement, well aware of his children's rambunctious behavior whenever it came to the decadent creations of the family chef.

Elan huffed and turned away with his nose turned up, but his eyes glinted with mirth, "You would think those heathens you call children starved to death in this household with the way they descended upon my kitchen."

Arman laughed, "I take it the surprise is no longer a surprise then?" Elan's answering look of harassment said it all.

"They've been banished to the yard I take it?"

"For all the good it did. They were nearly salivating as they hovered near the door and windows" The chef gestured at the giant bay windows and patio door of the room, "I couldn't take the pouts and puppy dog eyes, Sir. They've been banished to their rooms until I am done. I've already done a sweep and cleared all valuables from their path." Elan shook his head ruefully, but with a humorous twist to his lips, as he finished whipping up what Arman could now identify as a chocolate cake batter.

Ah, yes, the cake. That would do it, Arman mused. While his children, and himself admittedly, thoroughly enjoyed Chef Elan's cooking and delicacies on a regular basis, the Chef really outdid himself during the holidays. The weeks leading up to the New Year's celebrations were the only time of year when their Chef made his famous Boscan Chocolate Delight Cake. The five tiered monstrosity was any sweet lover's dream, and was one of the most looked forward to events of the end of year holidays by the Pradesh family. It was also the reason for his children being at their most competitive with one another.

Arman was not sure when exactly it started but somehow instead of all of his children sharing the treat of licking the cookware once the cake was in the oven, it had become a competition with the spoils going to the victor: the first to enter the kitchen. After trying without success to dissuade his stubborn children of the notion of a single victor, Arman and his Chef had resigned themselves to simply clearing the path of anything breakable and having supplies on hand for any necessary repairs needed after the ruckus.

"ETA?" The Ambassador inquired, quickly searching his memory if he had left anything that could be caught up in the collateral.

"Five minutes and counting."

"Hmm, just enough time for some tea." The Chef gestured to a cup that was steeping in the corner. A quick sniff exposed it as being the Ambassador's favorite blend. "How did I ever get along without you?" He praised the Chef.

Elan snorted and raised an amused brow, "You didn't. You were burning toast and on the verge of giving yourself food poisoning by the time I stepped in."

The esteemed Ambassador pouted,. "I was not that bad." He huffed indignantly.

"No", Elan agreed, shaking his head, "You were much worse," He finished with a laugh.

Arman, begrudgingly, nodded his agreement with a rueful smile; He was a menace in the kitchen. He still remembered his late wife's face when he tried to help her cook one of their first meals together as a couple. Needless to say he was promptly banned from the kitchen.

Shaking his head at the memory, Arman set up a chair to the side of the room from which he could better spectate the onslaught. He took the time to enjoy his tea and the rare moment of peace. The family Chef finished the last preparations before placing the cake layers into the oven.

The men's eyes met over the counter, humorous resignation passing between them. "And so it begins" The dark haired Chef whispered, eyes twinkling with laughter, "would you care to do the honors Sir?"

Arman gave a soft chuckle, nodding, "I believe I will." With that he brought up his sound magic to enhance his voice so it could be heard from all corners of the house. "CHILDREN, I WANT A CLEAN COMPETITION! MAGIC IS ADMISSABLE BUT THERE WILL BE NO INJURY AND DAMAGE IS TO BE KEPT AT A MINIMUM!" He paused, the silence in the house had become deafening, "TO YOUR MARKS…BEGIN!"

A dull rumbling could be heard and felt in the house, growing louder as the masses converged on the kitchen. The two adults traded amused looks before taking their seats and waiting. As the stampede closed in various thuds, shouts, and crashes could be heard. Arman took another sip of his tea.

"Ow, Em! Not fair! No hair pulling!" Ah, that was Cristoff, sweet Cristoff, the lover of fairness and justice.

"Hee hee! Not my fault, it was in my way! I'm gonna—ack! Vander!" There was Emzadi, his beautiful ball of sun fire, brashness, and competitive spirit.

"Out of my way Em! The goodness is calling my nam—ow! Hey! Stop that! I'm sorry! Ah, Hot, hot hot!" That would be his biggest trouble maker Vander. Lovable and golden-hearted though he was, the boy had a penchant for mischief like no other.

"Watch out babies! Incoming—ahh! Oof!"

"Bicks!"

"Heh-heh, thanks for the cushion bro—Oof!"

"Cushion huh? I'll show you!" That would be Bickslow and Farron, he'd been wondering when they would make themselves known. Now there were only two missing.

"Gah! Let go Xal! I can't see!"

"Haha, and let you win, never!" Ah, and there they were. Kaleb and Xally, his usually most quiet and rule-abiding children.

"Dang it Bickslow, my nails!" _…Emzadi…_

Bam! Thud! Thunk!

"Ah! Vander let me down!" _…Bickslow…_

"Not a chance! This is my year to—" Whoosh! "Gall darn it! Xally!" _…Vander…_

"Out of my way!" _…Xally…_

Glass shattering.

"That was all you!" _…Kaleb…_

"No way! That was totally on you!" _…Emzadi…_

"I didn't do it!" _…Cristoff…_

"I'm innocent!" _…Vander…_

Squawking and various banging sounds.

"Haha! Later squirt, I got this in the ba—no! Gah, Kaleb!" _…Farron…_

Slam! Several crashes.

"Argh! Cristoff!" _…Bickslow…_

"Serves you right big bro! Haha—ow! Wait! No! Stop! Bicks! Control your babies! Gah, no, stop!" _…Kaleb…_

"Heh heh! Later slow pokes!" _…Xally…_

A small, black haired blur slammed the door open and shot into the kitchen. A platinum blond blur and a mahogany haired blur close on its heels, but not fast enough as the first blur slammed a hand onto the kitchen counter. "I win!" Xally shouted excitedly as the Farron and Kaleb collapsed in front of her in defeat. Four more blurs flew into the room, only to collide with the two boys on the ground in a tangle of flailing limbs.

Once everyone had righted themselves, and begrudging congratulations had been given, Xally turned to look expectantly at Mr. Elan. The Chef rolled his eyes, comically sighing, before gesturing her to go-ahead. "Whoo-hoo!" the usually mild-mannered girl chirped before she descended onto the cookware along the counter and began licking the chocolate cake batter off of their surfaces. Her mouth now surrounded in chocolate, she smirked triumphantly at her siblings, "Better luck next time guys."

"Evil little sister" Vander murmured, gaining nods and hums of agreement from his other siblings.

"She hides it well" Kaleb stated solemnly, wringing out his soaking wet clothes.

The pouts and defeated looks on the rest of his children's faces, added onto their wet, charred, bruised, and paint covered (he didn't even _want_ to know how that occurred) appearances brought to mind the image of a heap of disgruntled puppies. Arman laughed, gaining the attention of all of his children who were soon smiling, greeting him, and getting hugs.

They were rambunctious, mischievous, energetic, competitive brats with the biggest hearts of gold he had ever known. But best of all, they were _his_ brats!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ( _13 years later_ ) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arman sat in the kitchen, enjoying a much needed cup of his favorite Boscan tea blend. He had returned home from the consulate ready to spend the next three weeks with his family, and their visiting friends, to celebrate Christmas and New Year's.

The Ambassador smiled, _all_ of his children were home this year. First, Bickslow had been allowed to return and the kill-on-sight orders placed on him for his magic many years ago had finally been recalled. It had taken some delicate maneuvering, but between himself and his oldest son Farron, they had been able to get Bickslow his Boscan citizenship back. Now, he would be able to see his son for the first time not only since he'd had to send him away to Fiore for his own safety, but for the first time since he had received word of his safe return after being missing for seven years. Second, he had received word of his second oldest son, Zen, being alive after all these years of mourning the deaths of his second child and his wife. It had been salt in the wound to hear of Pergrande's deception and following enslavement of his precious son. It had been great luck and chance that Bickslow's friend, Lucy, had come across the man able to give them the location and living status of his missing son. The celestial mage had crossed paths with one of Pergrande's nobles heavily favored by the King. The man had been involved in a black market deal, purchasing a shipment of magical artifacts that contained a gate key the celestial mage had been hunting for the past year. After having one of her spirits copy the man and access his memories the lovely blonde mage had acquired the knowledge of the true identity of the Pergrande gladiator known as 'The Dark Eagle'. As Lucy had been introduced to his family a few short months prior, she had been able to put all the pieces together, and start the events that led to the successful retrieval of his lost son. The Ambassador mused about the chance of the events playing out as they did. Had Bickslow not thought to invite Lucy to travel with him and some of his team to Bosco after Fairy Tail disbanded, he may never have known his son was still alive, let alone in the living hell of Pergrande's gladiator pits.

Thinking of the bright and cheerful celestial mage made his thoughts turn to the other celebratory nature of the current holiday break. Zen and Lucy had become promised to one another only two days before.

After his retrieval from Pergrande, Zen had taken to spending more and more time around and with Lucy, much to the equal parts exasperation and glee of his younger brother Bickslow and Bickslow's teammates who all viewed the sweet mage as a younger sister. The two became close, especially so following an incident with one of the White Sea Guild's other celestial mages, Hestor. During one of the guild parties, the male mage had made advances toward Zen and practically overpowered his will due to the attraction between their magics. Lucy, who had also been present at the party had noticed Zen's absence and, upon alerting his family, had sought him out and found him struggling to fight the magical allure of the other celestial mage. What exactly transpired after this is still largely unknown to Arman, as all witnesses to the event have remained extremely tight lipped. What he was able to pry out of his other reluctant children was only that there had been a fight between the celestial mages which had ended in Hestor needing to be hospitalized. Once recovered, the male mage had quickly put in a request for transfer to one of White Sea's outer branches. Arman was slightly frustrated that he couldn't get any further details. Kaleb, as White Seas Guild Master, would have all the facts at his disposal but had clammed up whenever his father asked about it. He'd simply stated that Lucy had really come into her own, and was truly a force to be reckoned with. Arman had then sought out his other main source of information, Vander, only to be blocked again as his youngest son got a glazed look to his eyes before paling and whispering "Scary Lucy is real, Bicks wasn't lying." Beyond them, nobody else was speaking about it. It had driven Arman a little crazy, especially when he caught his children occasionally glancing at the blonde celestial mage with looks of awe, pride, respect, and dare he say a little fear on occasion. Now though, Arman had resigned himself to the fact that he would never hear the exact events which led to his Zen attaching himself to Lucy's hip and acting positively smitten. Not that he was complaining, mind you; Arman was more than ready for his children to settle down and give him some grand children to spoil.

"Sir? Sir, are you ready?"

The voice of the family chef broke the Ambassador out of his thoughts, and reminded him where he was and what was about to happen. Arman gave the chef an amused smile.

"You'd think they'd grow out of this."

The chef scoffed and leveled the Ambassador a look which plainly stated 'Not likely'.

Arman hummed his agreement as he refilled his cup of tea while Elan placed the much anticipated New Year's cake into the oven. "Well, let's get this over with shall we?"

The men's eyes met over the counter, amused resignation passing between them. The dark haired Chef's eyes now had more pronounced laugh lines around them these many years later, but they were still gleamed with his ever present humor, "Would you care to do the honors Sir?"

Arman gave a soft chuckle, nodding, "I believe I will." With barely a thought he brought up his sound magic to enhance his voice so it could be heard from all corners of the house. "ALRIGHT, I WANT A CLEAN COMPETITION! MAGIC IS ADMISSABLE BUT ALL TELEPORTATION MAGICS ARE BANNED, THAT INCLUDES VOID HOPPING VANDER. THERE WILL BE NO SERIOUS INJURING, AND ALL DAMAGE IS TO BE KEPT AT A MINIMUM. ANY REPAIRS WILL BE COMING OUT OF YOUR OWN POCKETS, SO ALL THE BETTER IF NO DAMAGE AT ALL!" He paused, the silence in the house had become deafening, "TO YOUR MARKS…BEGIN!"

A dull rumbling could be heard and felt in the house, growing louder as the masses converged on the kitchen. The two adults traded amused looks before taking their seats and waiting. As the stampede closed in various thuds, shouts, and crashes could be heard. Arman took another sip of his tea.

"Ouch! Not cool Em!" _…Vander_ …

"Damn you fire witch! Come on Van!" _…and Cobra?..._

"Right behind you handsome" … _Ah, it seemed my children have roped their guests into the fun as well. This should be interesting…_

"If you can't take the heat, get the fuck outta my way!" _…Emzadi…_

"Son of a bitch! That hurt Bossman! Ow! Dammit, stop shocking me you ass!" _…Bickslow…_

"Dammit, Xally! No hair pulling! How old are you!?" _…Kaleb…_

"Hee hee! It was in my way! Now mo—ow, shit! Damn you Freed!" _…Xally…_

"All the more reason to watch where you step" _...Freed…_

"Ack! Vander, you shadowy little shit, get back here!" _…Laxus…_

"Out of my way Farron!" _…Cristoff…_

"Babies, Baryon Formation! Take that! And tha—gah! Cosplayer, damn you and your kinky maid!" _…Bickslow…_

"Haha, better luck next time Bicks!" _…Lucy…_

"Farron, this way!" _…Freed…_

"Oof! The fuck was that for Blondie!" _…Laxus…_

"All's fair Bro. Little stella got ya good, haha!" _…Vander…_

"Shall we finish this? I can smell the chocolate from here." _…Zen…_

"Anything for you babe! Cancer, lend me your power, Star Dress!" _…Lucy…_

"What! No fair! I thought we had something stella" _…Vander…_

"Fuck you Tink!" _...Cobra…_

"Damn Zen! That was a cheap shot!" _…Farron…_

"I thought you were a master spy?"

"Virgo! Aries! Clear us a path!"

"Dammit Blondie!"

"Gah! Lucy!"

"What the fuck is this stuff!"

"Damn it Stella!"

"No! Zen you fucker!"

"Technically they are following the rules."

"Doesn't mean we have to like it!"

"Seriously! He's being helped out by a veritable army commanded by a hot blonde! Not cool!"

"I thought we were partners Tink!?"

"Get back here Lulu!"

"I can't move!"

"What the hell is this stuff!?"

"That'll hold them for a while. Let's go babe!"

"Right behind you"

The steady tread of two pairs of feet approached the kitchen entrance. The door was calmly pushed open and a beautiful, brown-eyed blonde walked through holding hands with a tall, muscular male whose features closely resembled Arman's own, with the exception of his violet, gold-flecked eyes. Arman found himself grinning as he took in the appearance of his recently returned son and his son's fiancé. The pair had quickly made their way to the counter, and begun to lick the chocolate cake batter off of the cookware piled there. Two points of shimmering golden light appeared as celestial gates were opened. The lights disappeared to reveal a pink haired female in a maid outfit, and another pink haired female with horns on her head who seemed to be trying to hide behind the other in shyness.

"Ah, Aries, Virgo, Cancer, you have perfect timing. Come on and dig in guys, we couldn't have done it without you." Lucy greeted them with a brilliant smile. The spirits bowed to their key holder and her soon-to-be-husband before approaching with smiles of their own and enjoying some of the cake batter themselves.

There was a commotion at the entry way before all the rest of Arman's children, he used the term loosely as they were all more than capable adults, and the rest of their guests piled into the kitchen.

Arman quickly covered his mouth with a hand to try and stifle the urge to laugh at the sight of his children and houseguests. Coils of rope still entangled most of them, and puffs of pink wool were attached to various places on their persons. Add in the fact that a few looked like drowned kittens, others seemed to have experienced a large static charge, and Vander, Bickslow, Farron, and Freed seemed to have received impromptu haircuts, and you had a very amusing picture.

A deep chuckle drew everyone's attention to the tall, built, and darkly handsome male at the counter who gave them an unabashed grin while the buxom blonde beside him finished licking chocolate off her fingers before giving them a sweet smile, "Better luck next time guys."

"Stella, I'm not sure if anyone's told you lately, but you have a dark side" Vander grumbled as he tried to pick off all the pink puffs.

Cobra snorted, "Understatement," Which gained various nods and hums of agreement from the rest of the group.

"She hides it well" Bickslow stated solemnly, wringing out his soaking wet clothes before giving it up as a lost cause and turning his focus instead to flattening his static-charged hair.

"Agreed," Kaleb smirked, "The sweetness must be a façade meant to draw you in to your unwitting demise."

"Hey!" Lucy laughed, "You are very much alive and in-tact thank you!"

"Barely," Emzadi chuckled, "As they say, it's always the quiet innocent ones you need to be wary of."

"Older brothers too apparently," Xally grumbled as Cristoff worked on the last knot of rope restraining her arms having only just finished shedding his own cords.

"And to the victor, or victors I should say, go the spoils." Laxus sighed longingly.

The pouts and defeated looks on the faces of his now adult children and their guests, brought to mind the image of a pile of sullen puppies. Arman hid his laughter behind his cup of tea.

Two pairs of eyes watched the antics in amusement before turning to meet one another.

"What do you think Starshine? Do they deserve some?"

"Hmm, I don't know babe," the attractive blonde paused at the sudden pleading looks she was receiving from some of the most powerful and deadly mages in existence. She raised an eyebrow, "What was that about me being evil?"

"Pshh! Just a joke dear Stella, you know you are the moon, sun, and stars to my life."

"Um, yeah Cosplayer, you're super sweet, all the time" Bickslow assured with a tongued grin.

"You know I love your brand of crazy Tink" Cobra smirked.

"Uh Huh." Her eyes narrowed even as she fought to contain her amusement. Sighing she turned to face the laughing eyes of her fiancé, "Well, I guess they _have_ been relatively good, my clothing is in one piece after all, and there _is_ enough to share." Smiling at the group she nodded and gestured them over.

The group of Pradesh siblings and Fairy Tail mages quickly descended with grins and laughter upon the batter covered bake-ware.

"I want to lick the spoon!" Bickslow called out.

"Not if I get it first!" Emzadi crowed.

Finally allowing his own laughter and amusement to be heard, Arman watched the group, his eyes fond. They were rambunctious, mischievous, energetic, competitive brats with the biggest hearts of gold he had ever known. But best of all, they were _his_ brats!

…

 **Confession: Upon first reading through the prompt of 'lick' for this week, my initial thought was to do something sexy with chocolate, hot guys (aka the Pradesh men), and panty flooding that would put India in typhoon season to shame...** _ **this**_ **is what I got.**

 **I started writing with the original 'sexy' plan in mind; I tied in Boscan chocolate cake and then… wham! The muses send me a total curve ball and before I knew it I was 4 pages in to gooey chocolate family time… I just went with it -_-**

 **Aw well, feel free to leave a review and let me know what you thought :)**

 **JB**


	4. Chapter 4: Concede

**Day 3 has arrived!**

 **Once again, I want to express my gratitude for the lovely reviews. It means a lot to hear what you all have to say. I was unsure of the reception my writing would receive, and everyone's amazing comments have only bolstered the enjoyment I feel in being able to share it, so thank you!**

 **I know that today's prompt is supposed to be 'summit' but the muses are at work ad have not let me stop working on that prompt just yet, so I am skipping ahead a day and posting the one for 'Concede'. Should the muses be in favor, I will be posting 'Summit' sometime tomorrow. Now on to the story…**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, and the lovely Pradesh Family is owned by Desna.**

 **I'd like to shout out an additional thank you to 'Kakashi's Rabid Stalker', my wonderful editor, and undergrad roomie, for putting up with my chaotic schedule, wild ideas, and the late night emails. Hugs!**

…

 **Prompt: Concede**

Lucy leaned back in the lounge chair on the balcony adjoined to her room, eyes closed as took a moment to simply enjoy the warm caress of the sun on her face, and the light breeze coming off the nearby sea. The Grass Sea was an experience in itself. The water was rich in nutrients and fostered abundant plant life and animals both on the surface and amidst its depths. Upon her arrival in Bosco she had found the smell of the Grass Sea to be incomparable in how it both relaxed and rejuvenated her travel-worn body and spirit.

Opening her eyes, the celestial mage turned her attention back to the pen and paper on her lap.

 _Dear Mama,_

 _Things have been very busy since Fairy Tail won the Grand Magic Games. When we got back home we were able to move back in to the original guild hall, although Master is still keeping the building on the hill as a 'second-base'. Personally, I think he grew a bit attached, though I know he is very happy to have access to the pool back._

 _The guild has been swamped in special mission requests. It's been difficult for the usual teams to go on missions as regularly due to having multiple members often pulled away on other specially requested jobs at different times._

Team Natsu was no different in this fate. After their showing at the games, her teammates had received numerous requests for their aid, and hadn't been at the guild for more than a couple days in a row for the past six months. While she'd been having her fair share of personally requested missions herself, Lucy didn't envy her teammates, and instead capitalized on this break from the usual bank-breaking missions to save up a nice amount in her savings and train.

 _I've been training with my spirits every day. Capricorn and Loke helped me make a training schedule, and Virgo has been making sure I'm eating right. Sadly, for the time being that means no more strawberry smoothies. So unfair!_

The months of hard work with Capricorn and Loke had paid off. She had expanded her magical containers and improved her access and control of her second origin. She had spent time with each of her combat spirits individually, strategizing with them and sparring together. Similarly, she had spent time with her non-combatant spirits, often summoning them out for a day to visit or meditate. She worked at keeping multiple gates open for several hours on end to expand her containers. Lucy was now able to hold three zodiac gates open for five hours straight, and could have any of her silver keys out for more than 24 hours.

 _Bickslow took me under his wing and helped me work on my agility and physical strength. While I appreciate the results, my body hated me for a good two weeks in the beginning. It was brutal! I'm pretty sure I had more bruises from our training sessions than I ever received on missions with Team Natsu._

 _I have to admit, he's become something like a big brother to me now. We've gotten really close! I know you would have liked him. He would've made you laugh._

It was surprisingly Loke who brought up the idea of working on her agility and doing some strength training. While surprised at the new direction Lucy could easily see the advantages of such training. The saving in clothes costs alone if she was able to dodge wayward attacks and debris was worth it considering the frequent decimation of her closet on missions with her destructive team. The last mission they'd gone on had cost her eight pairs of underwear, five shirts, two skirts, and one of her favorite pairs of boots. She tried not to think about the new bra she'd had to throw away after finding Happy using it to carry around his leftover fish. She'd nearly strangled the blue fur ball for that one, and would have had Natsu not misinterpreted her wrapping her hands around the wretched cat's neck as a hug and dogpiled himself on top of them. Needless to say, Lucy would jump at any opportunity to save her wallet, and her closet, some grief.

That being said, the celestial mage couldn't have been more surprised at who Loke had recommended she ask for instruction and to aid her in her training. She had still been wrapping her mind around it even as she walked up to the second floor of the guild to find her new 'trainer'.

The Seith mage had been equally surprised at first but easily agreed to help her out. Bickslow told Lucy to meet him in the guild's gym early the next morning to start and the rest, as they say, was history.

The proceeding weeks saw a close friendship bloom between the guild's resident celestial maiden and Seith mage. While their magic was similar in nature, they realized they had other things in common as well. They had a matching sense of humor, were strongly loyal to their friends, and both of them were the designated cooks on their teams lest they want to endure food poisoning or starvation.

 _Little did I know that he was adopted by no other than Boscan Ambassador Arman Pradesh. Honestly, I nearly Lucy-kicked him for holding out on that little bit of info for so long. And then he had the gall to laugh at me after hearing about how his father has been my idol since childhood! I think my reaction was perfectly reasonable. The man is a highly intelligent political leader and an open activist for peace. Not only that, but he took in several children and raised them to keep a promise he made his departed wife. His actions, personal and political showed not only his loyalty and love for his wife, but his kindness, compassion, and large heart towards those he cares about and his country. From what I've seen, Ambassador Pradesh has raised one amazing man in Bickslow, and I look forward to meeting the rest of his siblings. From Bickslow's stories, they seem like a handful. I think they'd fit right in at the craziness of Fairy Tail._

 _That being said, Bickslow invited me to come with him and the Raijinshuu to Bosco and visit his family over the holidays. I'm taking him up on his offer, mama. With the rest of the team away on missions or having other plans outside of Magnolia, I want to explore the world a bit. After all, I don't know when I'll get another chance to see Bosco. I remember you talking a little about the Academy Celestine that that is located there. I hope I can visit._

Lucy had received a big shock upon learning her 'trainer's' last name.

"Pradesh!? As in, related to Arman Pradesh?!"

"Uh, yeah? He adopted me and five of my other siblings. You know him?"

Yeah, that day Bickslow had nearly had a coronary from laughing so hard after finding out the long-standing hero-worship Lucy had for his father stemming from when she was still a child at the Konzern. First it was wishing her own father were as warm and caring as the Boscan Ambassador who had opened his home and adopted several children following his wife's death, then it became admiration and respect for the man's policies, negotiation skills, and diplomacy. From a young age Lucy had hoped she would someday be able to do as much good in the world as Ambassador Arman Pradesh.

A couple of months later and the two had gone on a few jobs together and with some members from each of their teams. The Seith mage was a serious task master, but still managed to keep things light with a joke and easy banter during the more grueling sessions.

As the holidays started coming around, Bickslow had shared his holiday plans during one of their morning work outs.

"You're going to Bosco?"

"Yeah, the whole family is getting together. Dad said we could bring some friends too. I'll need the back-up. Vander is always ready with a prank at the family meet and greets the lovable shit that he is."

Lucy chuckled, having heard many detailed recounting of his siblings deeds and misconducts. Her favorite so far involved his youngest brother Vander, his youngest sister Xally, pink hair dye, and a tiger-striped bikini. That tale alone had left her sides aching for days from the belly laughs it'd inspired.

Bickslow grinned, sticking out his tongue good naturedly, "Anyways, I was thinking that since your team will be away, you could come with me and the Raijinshuu to Bosco to see my family and spend the holidays with us. Whatcha say Cosplayer?"

Lucy smiled, it was sweet of him to offer, "Sure. I've always wanted to go to Bosco before. When do we leave?"

Bickslow whooped before pulling her into a hug and spinning her around. "Two days. We have tickets for an airship that leaves at 7am from that new skyport in Crocus."

 _We travelled one on of the Boscan airships, it was amazing! It was only Laxus, Bickslow, Freed, Cobra, and I making the trip. Evergreen was apparently invited to go somewhere with the Strauss siblings. She and Elfman are 'openly' dating now. Granted everyone knows they've been dating for the past year._

 _Cobra's been adjusting well since he was dropped off at the guild by Mest and Captain Lahar from the Council. He and Kinana have rekindled their friendship, and he often sits at the bar talking with her. It was pretty sweet when he went all protective on her when her new boyfriend showed up to take her on a date. Luckily, the guy got Cobra's (begrudging) approval, and they've been together for almost six months now. I'm so happy for them._

 _Cobra and Bickslow have become good… friends? I'm not quite sure how to term their relationship. It's more than tolerance, less than hugging and 'gushy, nauseating sentiment' (as the boys would say), and started simply because Cobra can't 'hear' Bickslow due to his magic. He says it helps keep him sane sometimes, having a 'quiet space' to focus on amidst all the craziness._

"Oi, Tink! Look alive, we're boarding."

"Ehh!?" The celestial mage bolted upright from where she had been napping on the bench at the skyport. Eyes still blurry from sleep, she yawned and hazily looked around.

A caramel-skinned hand lightly rasped her chin and turned it to her right where she spotted a large air ship had docked. "Neverland is that way, Tink. Let's go before the minions come to herd us."

"…Okay," her brain still muddled from sleep she went through the motions of gathering her things and had taken several steps toward the boarding line where she could see Laxus and Freed waiting for them before freezing in place as something clicked into place.

Spinning around she pointed dramatically at the Poison dragon slayer, who was standing with an amused smirk on his face.

"Cobra! What are you doing here?"

"Bicks invited me. Figured it'd be pretty boring staying at the guild while Kinana, Bicks, Metalface, Sparky, and you were gone. There wouldn't be anybody I could have stimulating conversations with, so I decided I'd grace you with my amazing presence."

Lucy snorted before giving the snarky slayer a smile.

"Go on, bask in the glow of my awesomeness." He poked her when she chuckled, "Come on, you know you'd miss this."

"We'd miss something alright," came the voice of the Seith mage laughing behind them.

"Miss something!". "Will not!". "Not you!". No!". "Pointy Ears!"

Lucy smiled at the little totems, or as Cobra called them 'the minions', that suddenly appeared around them. The last exclamation had come from the smallest totem 'Pipi' who nuzzled Cobra's shoulder.

The poison dragon slayer eyed the other totems with narrowed eyes before scooping 'Pipi' out of the air and patting the top. "Well, I know who's _not_ being dissolved in sulfuric acid." With that he stalked off toward the ship, his coat flaring out dramatically behind him.

The Seith mage and celestial mage watched him go, the latter chuckling while the former eyed the departing slayer with slight trepidation.

"…He won't right?"

At her shrug he frowned and started jogging after the poison slayer, "Oi, Cobra! Dude, you wouldn't do that right? They were only joking right babies?"

"Never!. "Not at all". "Totally serious". "No Joke".

"You're not helping yourselves babies!"

 _We arrived in Bosco the next day, and I got to meet all of Bickslow's family. Ambassador Pradesh is having us all stay in his home, and the Chef makes the most delicious strawberry cream float._

Heavy knocking on her door brought Lucy back to the present. Setting down her letter she answered the door to find an excited Bickslow waiting for her.

"It's game time Cosplayer, let's go, let's go."

Ah yes, 'game time'. Bickslow had prepped his guild mates on the flight over. It was a tradition in his family to play board games and engage in different competitions with one another. To the winners go the bragging rights, and a custom-made dessert by their esteemed chef.

Entering into the large family room, Lucy found all the Pradesh siblings and her guild mates taking their places around a pile of games. Arman and the chef, Elan, had taken seats on the nearby couches to spectate.

Xally smiled her when she took the seat next to hers.

"Careful Cosplayer, Vander is the king of slight-of-hand, Emzadi is a card shark, and Farron and Kaleb are aces at strategy games. And don't let Xally and Cristoff fool you with their sweet natures, they are absolutely brutal."

Lucy laughed, "Thanks for the warning, but I know your slight-of-hand is just as top-notch. Sounds like thing are going to get interesting, what are we playing first?"

When Emzadi held up Monopoly, Lucy shyly admitted she didn't know how to play.

After a quick crash course of the rules, Lucy realized it was basically a game version of what her childhood lessons had all been about: Business, Luck, Monetary Management, and Risk. With that in mind she began to feel a bit more confident in at least making a good showing, heck, maybe even winning.

Kaleb, catching the trailing end of her thoughts, gave her a playful smirk, "Careful Lucy, you're playing with the big boys now."

Eyes narrowing, Lucy felt her own competitive spirit rising up. "We'll let the results speak for themselves then shall we?" she taunted back, earning a chuckle from the good looking guild master.

After debates over which tokens they would use [Vander (Boot), Emzadi (Canon), Xally (Thimble), Kaleb (Car), Bickslow (Dog), Farron (Top Hat), Lucy (Battleship), Cristoff (Wheelbarrow), Freed (Cat), Cobra (Iron), and Laxus (Horse)], and passing out money to each player, they were finally ready to begin. It was decided that Arman would be the 'Banker'.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _15 Minutes Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

After an entire turn passed with everyone having to pay Lucy for landing on one of her properties while she only received a card stating for her to "Pass 'Go' and collect $200", the other Fairy Tail mages felt a pit of dread form in their guts as they suddenly remembered Lucy's aristocratic background and one of her nicknames.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _40 Minutes from Start of Game~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

"Hah! Free parking money is mine!" The celestial mage grinned, gleefully adding the cash to her already accumulated bulk under the horrified stares of Cristoff, Laxus, Freed and Emzadi.

Bickslow and Vander were in 'Jail'… for the third time.

Xally and Cobra had run out of money and were now amusedly watching events unfold.

Kaleb and Farron narrowed their eyes as they calculated future moves and purchases.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _1 Hour from Start of Game~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Arman and Freed watched the celestial mage purchases a third hotel with great appreciation. Freed had paid out the rest of his money and properties to Lucy following a string of bad luck where he kept landing on her properties.

Emzadi, Cristoff, and Bickslow were now out and had joined the rest in cheering on the underdog Fairy.

Vander was back in Jail… for the eight time; much to his frustration, and his family's amusement.

Laxus was surviving by the skin of his teeth, and the luck of landing several helpful Chance and Community Chest cards.

Farron, and Kaleb were frowning as they took stock of their dwindling accounts and limited properties. The guild master of White Sea was also shooting the blonde mage intermittent looks of admiration as he listened in on the celestial mage's thoughts and strategy. The layer upon layers of strategy hidden behind the seemingly innocent and sweet smile was truly a wonder. Farron was also in Jail for the first time. Emzadi and Cristoff were having a good laugh over that fact as they took in their oldest brother's disgruntled expression.

Cobra, sitting on a couch to Lucy's left, was staring at the blonde celestial mage in a sort of terrified awe as he listened to the organized chaos that was driving her methodical domination of the game.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ _2 Hours from Start of Game~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

Laxus and Vander were now out.

"Tink?"

"Hmm?" Her attention primarily on the board as she calculated her next five moves for three different scenarios pending on Kaleb's decision to buy another house for his property or not.

"If you ever want to take over the world and establish yourself as the grand overlord and dictator, I just want to say that you can count me in and will have my total support and undying loyalty."

"Hm?... Oh, that's nice Cobra. I'll keep that in mind." The celestial mage responded, shooting the slayer a distracted smile before turning her now glinting eyes back to her paling opponents.

"Farron, that will be $2000."

…

 **I look forward to hearing what you think :) It keeps the muses alive and going.**

 **TTFN!**

 **JB**


	5. Chapter 5: Summit

**Day 4 is here!**

 **Finally! The muses have let me tie off the entry for this prompt. It had started out being rather simple in mind and outline, but once I started writing things kept coming up and ideas kept flowing.**

 **Anyways, I've been reading all of the review and comments you all have been leaving; Let me just say that you are all so kind and amazing! I keep getting these warm, happy-feelies whenever I read through them. You sure know how to bolster someone's confidence in their writing :)**

 **I look forward to hearing you take on this chapter. Honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing this become part of a bigger story. I don't know when I would have the time anytime soon but maybe in the future. Of course, should anyone else feel inclined, feel free. Just let me know so that I can read it as well :P**

 **Thank you again to my lovely editor, Kakashi's Rabid Stalker, for putting up with my crazy ideas and over use of commas (It's a bad habit I am trying to break).**

 **Now, on to the story…**

 **Disclaimer:** **I own nothing. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, and the lovely Pradesh Family is owned by Desna.**

…

 **Prompt: Summit**

Five figures walked the halls of the newly constructed Embassy Galleria in Caleum. The smallest figure was all but jumping in excitement as she asked question after question of her guild mates.

"Do you think the Starbringer will be there? I hope she is. I've always wanted to meet her! Do you think she would let me meet Plue—Ooh! Or what about Leo?! That would be so amazing! Do you think I can meet her? Shake her hand?! I wonder what her favorite color is. Which of the other zodiac does she have now? Do you think she has Libra? I really hop—mmfh!" The excited chatter was swiftly silenced by a hand closing over her mouth. Green eyes glared over the offending appendage at her fellow celestial spirit mage beside her.

Dark brown, almost black, eyes glared back at her. "Honestly, midget, shut up already. I'm tired of all the senseless yapping."

"Take it easy, Hestor, she's just excited," The tall, blond haired, orange-eyed exotic beauty with them intervened with a smile.

"Well then she can go and be excited somewhere else. She's giving me a headache," The so named Hestor huffed back, reluctantly removing his hand. He pushed past the group to head on to their assigned rooms alone.

Rai, formally known as Raina, stared after Hestor. She hadn't meant to annoy him. The recently turned twelve year old had just graduated from her basic studies at the Academy Celestine and was among the White Sea delegation sent to the Celestial Summit that was being hosted in Caleum this year. Celestial Spirit mages across the countries were gathering here for the next five days.

A large hand ruffling her hair brought her out of her thoughts. "Don't worry, I know for a fact that your Starbringer will be here," Cristoff, her guild's lunar dragon slayer, assured her with a calming smile.

"Actually, I also heard from a little birdie that she is here to take on an apprentice." The fifth member of the group voiced slyly.

Green eyes widened and the small body started bouncing with energy again, "Really?! Who told you that?!"

Vander was a renowned shadowquip mage, the brother of her guild master, the renowned flirt of the guild, and the one to go to if you ever wanted the most accurate gossip and guild drama, as Rai had found out in her first two weeks at the guild. He was also, according to the rest of his siblings, the biggest troublemaker, and was always up to no good. She'd overheard some of the older mages talking about some incident involving the young shadowquip and the used-to-be virginal daughters of some Minstrellian noble a few weeks back.

The handsome shadowquip mage now smirked teasingly at her, "Well, one of our brothers, Bickslow, happens to be in the same guild as your Starbringer, and he just happened to let slip over the com last night that he and a team would be escorting her here."

"Wicked!" the twelve year old exclaimed, "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Rai grabbed Vander and Cristoff's hands and started dragging them down the path that Hestor had taken, much to the amusement of the three siblings who traded knowing looks over her head.

At their assigned rooms they were met by a tall, muscular, lavender eyed mage, dressed in skin tight white leather. Platinum blond hair pulled back in elaborate braids and adorned with decorated chains and beads announcing his position, the young guild master of White Sea, Kaleb Pradesh, struck an imposing figure as he finalized the details of their stay with his ever-present attendant, Thane. Both men turned to greet the arriving mages, Kaleb projecting his amusement at the sight of his two brothers being dragged behind the small mage they dwarfed. Emzadi trailing behind them, eyes alight with mischief as she tucked her camera out of sight.

The White Sea delegation had arrived at the summit.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

Brought out of her contemplation of the passing scenery, Lucy turned around at the familiar voice to greet the grinning Seith mage.

"It's amazing! I can't wait to land and see everything up close."

"Well, lucky for you, I was just told we'd be landing in twenty minutes." The two Fairy Tail mages turned to see their fellow Fiorians coming up on deck.

The Fairy Tail delegation had met up with the Sabertooth delegation to travel to the now annual Celestial Summit.

Yukino smiled in greeting, it was her who had spoken, before turning her attention to the young boy beside her. Kiren had joined the Sabertooth with his older sister a year and a half ago. When the then ten year old had demonstrated an affinity for celestial spirit magic, Yukino had been quick to take him under her guiding wing, and from there he had flourished. This trip would be for her to formally list his apprenticeship.

The Celestial Summit had been started shortly after the war with Tartarus. The reduced number of celestial mages across Fiore and its surrounding nations had brought the national councils together to deliberate methods to preserve the magic before it was lost altogether. It was soon announced that there would be an annual summit at which celestial mages from all nations would gather to trade information, training advice, and, most importantly, register for and take on apprentices to whom they could pass on their craft and teachings.

This year, Lucy would be registering for her first apprentice herself. She had helped Yukino out in the beginning of Kiren's apprenticeship before easing herself out of the dynamics. She had been helping Yukino master the beginning elements of learning Stardress with her own contracted spirits after getting approval from the Spirit King. The Sabertooth mage's training was going smoothly thus far. She had mastered Pisces Stardress form three weeks before they left for the summit.

Lucy was happy for her fellow celestial mage, but could admit that she was slightly jealous of Yukino and Kiren's relationship, and wanted her own apprentice to teach the wonders of her magic to.

It was mandatory for all guild masters to be among the escort for their celestial mages, as the summit also served as a preliminary meeting of the guilds across nations. In addition to Sting, Sabertooth had sent Rogue, Rufus, and Dobengal to act as the guarded escort.

Laxus was acting as stand-in guild master as his grandfather was not up to the trek. The lightning mage had taken over most of his grandfather's duties and was master in all but the official documents anyways. In addition to him, Bickslow, Wendy, and Freed were accompanying them as their own guarded escorts.

Bickslow had shared that many of his siblings would be among White Sea's delegation from Bosco. Lucy was excited at the chance to meet the rest of the esteemed Pradesh family. She had long harbored a deep admiration and idol worship for her guild mate's father, Arman Pradesh, the esteemed Ambassador of Bosco, since her childhood at the Konzern, The man was a political celebrity. She had also met Bickslow's sisters, Xally and Emzadi, along with his second oldest brother, and the White Sea guild master, Kaleb, and oldest brother, Farron, when they had visited shortly after the New Year's holidays. The blonde celestial mage was looking forward to meeting Bickslow's remaining siblings, Vander and Cristoff, and putting faces and personalities to names.

After landing in Caleum, the groups made their way to the Embassy Galleria to sort out their housing arrangements for the rest of the week.

The Fairy Tail and Sabertooth delegations had arrived.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rai played with her long red hair nervously. She'd heard the whispers; the Starbringer had arrived with her delegation and a fellow Fiorian guild.

Dropping her hands to her key ring, she smiled when they warmed at her touch, thrumming supportively and projecting to her their own excitement. Orion, Canis Major, Dorado*, Lacerta* had been with her through everything thus far. Serpens and Aquila were graduation gifts from her grandmother before she passed a year before, but they had quickly formed a strong bond. They felt her excitement and nerves for the upcoming ceremony. Her newest key she'd found only days before leaving for the summit. It had been covered in mud so it wasn't until she had cleaned it that she'd seen the gold sheen.

She'd only just made a contract with the temperamental mermaid two days before in her hotel suite and, after a reprimand to never summon her in a bath tub again, her new spirit made the request to be placed on a chain around her neck instead of her key ring. When Rai had asked why, the spirit had smiled and told her that she'd know soon enough before closing her gate.

The twelve year old shook her head fondly; Aquarius was an interesting spirit that was for sure. It was curious though, the last she'd heard the zodiac spirit had been one of the ones believed contracted to the Starbringer. Then again, not everything Hestor's gossip magazines printed was true. After all, another issue of that magazine had been adamant that the Starbringer was sleeping with both of her teammates, who were in a secret tryst themselves, and was the mother of the blond guild leader of another Fioran guild, Saber-something. Rai scrunched her nose at the memory; Hestor read some _really_ odd magazines. Sorcerers Weekly wasn't back in print just yet as they were still recovering from the Tartarus war, so Rai had had to rely upon news updates via other sources.

 _"You ready for this?"_

Rai looked up and smiled upon meeting the gaze of her guild master, whose smirk had her fighting a blush upon realizing he'd heard everything she'd just been thinking.

 _"Absolutley!"_

That was taking some getting used to. Knowing that her guild master could communicate via a mind link was different from actually experiencing it firsthand.

 _"Then let's go introduce ourselves, shall we?"_

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The Fairy Tail delegation entered the meeting hall. Long tables of refreshments and snacks lined the sides of the room, and tables were interspersed between the various ornate columns. Finding their table, they noticed they would be sharing with the Sabertooth delegation if they were to go by the nametags on the plates.

"Yukino said they would meet us here once everyone had finished checking in," Lucy shared with her guild mates as most of them settled in at the table.

"Yes, and Laxus said he would be joining us once the guild master meeting finished up. He should be here soon as well," Freed added, scanning their surroundings.

Hearing a laugh behind her, she turned to find Bickslow looking at the name tags on a neighboring table. "I should have known. Kaleb probably had something to do with this," The Seith chuckled to himself before turning to meet the inquisitive looks of his fellow mages.

"Guess who will be our neighbors for the wining and dining?"

Lucy smiled excitedly. "That's brilliant! Who all came?"

The Seith eyed the rest of the names. "Hmm, well Kaleb is a no-brainer, but it seems my two youngest brothers and Emzadi have also made the trek. Kaleb told me they were bringing two celestial mages with them, so I guess those are the last names, I don't think I know them."

"It will be good to see Kaleb and Emzadi again," Lucy agreed with a smile, before turning to Wendy, "You might want to talk with Cristoff, he's one of Bickslow's brothers, and the Lunar Dragon Slayer. Bick's told me he specializes in combat healing magic. I know you've been having some trouble understanding the books Porlyusica gave you, so maybe he could help."

The Sky Dragon Slayer nodded excitedly, she'd been getting a little frustrated with the practical application techniques the books were describing and would welcome any help on the matter she could get.

"Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten you'd started studying combat healing techniques Little Blue. Cris would be a goldmine of information on that for you. I'll be sure to point him out when he gets here." The Seith promised his younger guild mate with a goofy smile, earning a giggle from the teenager.

"Thank you, Bickslow, I'd greatly appreciate it! The books are so confusing at times, and combative healing is very different from what I've been learning with Grandma Porly so far."

He nodded at her. "Yeah, Cris should be able to explain it better to you. The guy is a master at it."

"I didn't realize there would be so many delegations." The Rune mage admitted.

"Well, it is a global summit. If I understand their tribal markings right, that group over there is a delegation from Enca. The groups behind them, wearing the body-length cloaks, I believe are from Atla. Those clothing styles are really common in the region due to the extreme temperatures and provide protection against the sand that gets stirred up in the high winds." Lucy shared.

"My brother Farron says the heat is nearly unbearable, and is one of the main reasons he dislikes having to travel there," Bickslow added, leaning in so as not be overheard, "It's also why he and my dad always make sure to take either Cristoff or Xally with them to help alleviate the heat with their cooling mists." The group chuckled at that.

"Hee-hee, I guess that would be a handy magic to have in those conditions." Wendy agreed with a smile.

"It doesn't mean we like it any better than they do, though," A smooth, baritone voice sounded from behind the group, "What, no hug for your dear brother?"

"Cristoff! It's been too long, man!" The Seith had quickly spun around at the sound of the familiar voice and grabbed the tall, muscular male up in a bear hug.

"No calls, no letters, I was beginning to feel a little forgotten oh brother mine." The dark haired male teased.

"And who would these beautiful specimens be?" A silky tenor sounded from behind Lucy and Wendy, drawing startled yelps from the two. Lucy reacted without thinking, kicking out with her foot in a sweeping motion while yanking on the nearest arm. She swiftly dumped the startled mage on his ass before anyone, let alone him, could react.

After a few seconds of startled blinks as everyone took in what had happened, Bickslow and the newly identified 'Cristoff' burst out laughing. The two brothers bent over from the force of their humor at their youngest brother's expense. Said younger brother sent them a glare before turning an amused and appraising look at the mage who had caught him off guard, a rare thing to happen.

"I knew it was a good day to bring my camera, wait until Kaleb sees what I just captured on video." A smugly amused voice broke in through the deep guffaws. A tall blonde with orange eyes stood, camera in one hand, the other on her hip, full red lips curved in a sassy smile.

"Gee, thanks Em." The Shadowquip pouted, before giving in and letting out a few chuckles of his own, "Note to self, don't sneak up on gorgeous brown-eyed blondes with a pink Fairy Tail mark on their hand; they have a powerful kick."

Lucy blushed and offered an apology, which the good-humored male simply waved aside with a grin.

"Cosplayer, you are awesome! It's been a while since anyone's caught Van off guard." Bickslow cackled merrily.

"Van? As in Vander?" The blond queried, receiving a dashing grin and an elegant bow from the now standing shadowquip.

"At your services, mi'lady," He kissed her hand dramatically before winking at her, " _Any_ services," He huskily intoned, earning a smack upside the head from his newly arrived guild master.

"Down boy, behave." The platinum blond man ordered with a frown.

"Aww, Kaleb, you take the fun out of everything!" The now introduced 'Vander' faux-whined, "Fun-sucker!" He pouted dramatically, before turning his attention once again to the now chuckling blonde Fairy.

"Hmm, let's see. Gorgeous, sweet tempered, has a powerful kick, and holds multiple golden keys on her belt. You must be the famous Starbringer we've heard so much about."

The blonde smiled sweetly, "Call me Lucy. It's a pleasure to meet you as well Vander, Bickslow has told me many stories about what you all would get up to as children. It's nice to finally put a face to a name"

"It _is_ a handsome face, no?" The shadowquip teased, striking a modeling pose.

"And I see that he didn't embellish on your playboy ways either," She mused.

"Ah, Stella, we are going to have so much fun together"

"I'm looking forward to it, Umbra." The blonde smirked, before directing her attention to the man's other brother.

"Hello Cristoff, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I'm Lucy." The celestial mage stuck her hand out good naturedly.

When the large, built model of masculinity made contact to shake her hand, Lucy fought not to show the pleasant shock that coursed through her. Her brow furrowed slightly, but her attention was swiftly pulled away due to the arrival of the Sabertooth delegation. Putting the matter to the back of her mind for later consideration, she greeted and made room for her fellow celestial mage and her student, and completely missed the astounded and appraising look that passed over the lunar slayer's face. His siblings, however, did not. Nor did the slightly grumpy lightning slayer who had only just rejoined his delegation after a tedious hour of boring discussions in the guild master's meeting.

Laxus gave a low warning growl to the other slayer, warning him of his kinship, before giving a slight nod of his understanding and, resigned, acceptance of the situation.

Cristoff was still reeling from the discovery. She was his mate. His _Mate_! He'd finally found her, after so many years of searching. The reaction of his inner dragon was just as his mother Nurem had described. Upon first contact with his suitable match his inner dragon had purred and all but rolled belly-up to the fierce spit-fire his brother had talked so much about.

A prod in his mind brought him out of his thoughts and meeting the shocked pale lavender gaze of his older brother and guild master, and the amusedly gleeful orange gaze of his sister. Emzadi smiled her congratulations to him even as she moved around to introduce herself more formally to his mate—to Lucy. Ah, Lucy, such a sweet name.

" _You're such a sap. And here I thought you couldn't become any more of a sentimental, romantic."_

Cristoff subtly flipped Kaleb the middle finger behind his back as he made his way to stand near his mate.

 _"She doesn't know; not yet anyway. Given a little time and no distractions and I'm sure she'd figure it out in moments seeing as she is close to so many of the slayers in her guild."_

The Lunar Slayer grabbed a drink off one of the trays of a passing wait-staff, _"I will wait until after tonight's festivities to take her aside and tell her. Fuck Kaleb, I didn't expect it to happen so suddenly. It is a bit much to heap onto everything else, and this is something that should not be rushed. I will tell her, and let her set the pace."_

The blond mindbender nodded, smiling softly, _"Congratulations, brother."_ Kaleb then smirked at him, _"Will you be the one to break the news to Rai or shall I?"_ chuckling at the internal groan and laughter of the Lunar Slayer at the thought of sharing with the young celestial mage that he was to be mated to her idol. The young girl was excited enough at just the thought of seeing the Starbringer in person. To learn that one of her guild mates would soon be promised to her idol, making said idol likely to be in close proximity fairly regularly, may send the girl into a catatonic state of excitement.

The brothers were brought out of their silent conversation by the entrance of the rest of White Sea's own delegation to the hall. With it, the excitable young mage they'd been discussing.

As the group made their way over, Hestor quickly excused himself to join a discussion with a group of mages from Sin and Enca. Rai, walking beside a softly smiling Thane, was currently too busy taking in the sights of the different delegations and the ornate hall they were gathered in to notice her present company.

As the group grew closer, Vander popped up from the shadows beside his brothers, "Tell Em to get her camera ready." The shadowquip nudged his blond sibling, eyes glinting in mirth.

"Already done."

Indeed, the solar slayer had excused herself from her conversation with the female mages from Fiore and moved to their side, camera in hand to capture what was bound to be a memorable meeting.

Bickslow, who'd made his way back to them from checking in with his team leader, cocked an amused eyebrow, "What's going on?"

"Nothing much," Cristoff mused with a nonchalant shrug. The hidden laughter in his eyes betrayed him though.

"It seems that our youngest celestial mage has quite the idol worship for your Starbringer."

"Oh, really?" The Seith grinned, definitely interested now.

"Yep, all she could talk about was the possibility of seeing the Starbringer in person at this Summit." Vander chuckled.

Bickslow hummed, studying the place settings once again before turning to level a look at his older brother.

"You pulled some strings with the seating arrangements, didn't you?"

Kaleb stared back innocently at him, "Abuse my position and use Father's influence to somehow get our guild's delegation moved from one side of the hall to the other just on a whim? You think so ill of me brother?"

The Seith mage "hmphed" before leaning in, "No, brother, but I do think it interesting that all of the other guilds seem to have seating arranged in alphabetical order of the country they hail from. Now, unless I totally botched up in learning the alphabet, I do believe there are a several countries that come between Bosco and Fiore alphabetically."

Emzadi snorted while her brother, and guild master, pouted, actually _pouted_ , at being found out. "Honestly, you can't tell me you expected it to go unnoticed by everyone. All the ladies over there already noticed, but chalked it up to your desire to sit near and visit with Bickslow."

Kaleb rolled his eyes. He'd wanted to do something for one of his youngest and sweetest guild members, so sue him. Not to mention the move had the added bonus of letting him visit with his brother, and the unforeseen bonus of helping another of his brother's find their mate. Yes, the mindbender would consider this a job well done in his book, no matter what his siblings said.

Their attention was pulled back to their approaching guild members, sans one, who'd finally made it across the crowded floor.

"Whatcha think, half-pint?" Vander asked, ruffling the red hair playfully and smirking at the glare he received, "Found a Master yet to take you on?"

The younger mage huffed. "I just got here, Shadow-man. I haven't even had the chance to talk with anyone yet," She frowned before suddenly perking up, "Why? You know someone?!"

"…Maybe." The shadowquip hedged with a smile.

"Shadow-man," she whined, "Not nice. Tell me, tell me! Who is it? Who? Who?!"

"Hmmm..." Vander assumed a dramatic thinking pose, "Nope! It's a secret." The male then snickered and disappeared into the shadows to pop out again behind her.

Rai pouted.

"But," He covered her eyes and started leading her over to the table, "We do have someone we wanted you to meet."

Curiosity raised, Rai waited. Suddenly, the hands covering her vision were removed.

"Say hello Bicks. Bickslow, meet the half-pint. Half-pint, this is Bickslow, our brother from Fiore."

The tall blue-black haired male with a tattoo over his face smiled at her. His eyes dancing with laughter, he bowed and kissed her hand theatrically, "A pleasure, fine lady."

Rai stared, "You're a dork" she finally said, hearing the other Pradesh siblings behind them burst into laughter along with some people who she guessed to be Bickslow's guild mates, "Nice, but still a dork." She smiled impishly, earning a cackle from the tall male.

"You got spunk, kid." The Seith mage gave a lazy grin, eyes bright with mischief as he noticed Emzadi getting her camera ready in the background, "Kind of reminds me of you Cosplayer. Whatcha think?"

Rai watched, slightly confused, as the tall mage before her turned around to address someone seated behind him. When the mage's bulk cleared her view, all thought stopped, and she froze in place.

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Lucy watched the gathering of mages in amusement. She could already tell that Vander was basically a male version of her friend Cana, and that they'd get along like a house on fire. Cristoff, however, provided an entirely unexpected development. While Lucy had long ago accepted that the Pradesh family was blessed in the looks department, she hadn't been expecting the powerful draw she had to the lunar slayer. Hot damn! It was all she could do to damn the flood in her nether regions when their hands had connected. Something about the experience was nagging at her memory, but she couldn't for the life of her recall anything beyond the thoughts of 'Yummy', 'Delicious', and 'Mine'. Deciding to push it aside for later contemplation, she'd turned her attention toward Yukino and her delegation, who had d finally arrived at their table; Emzadi joining their discussion soon after.

The solar slayer then excused herself, saying she needed to go keep her wayward brothers in line. Watching the other blonde depart, Lucy found herself making eye contact with the silver eyed gaze of the lunar slayer. The celestial mage paused, she could have sworn Cristoff had blue eyes; Then, she blinked, and the lunar slayer's gaze was the enticing deep, rich blue she'd remembered. Mentally shaking herself, Lucy offered him a smile before turning back to answer a question Wendy had posed to her. While she was proud of herself for staying calm thus far, the celestial mage couldn't seem to keep from steeling the occasional glance at the dark-haired Boscan slayer. Damn Bickslow for his unfairly attractive family! She was here to gain an apprentice, not get laid. Granted, from the looks of him, Cristoff would definitely leave her with no complaint in that department. _'Damnit! Focus Lucy!'_ she chided herself.

Luckily for her, her attention was called away by the cute image of her towering Seith mage guild mate being introduced to a sweet looking red-headed child bearing the White Sea guild mark on her bare shoulder. The young girl wore a fuchsia-colored sleeveless dress with a cute brown belt around her waist. Lucy thought she caught a glint of metal near the small bag hanging from the belt, but her guild mate and his siblings blocked most of her view. She could easily hear the conversation they were having though; or rather, the interesting introduction being made by the mischievous shadowquip mage.

When she heard the child, who she'd place at being no older than 11 or 12, boldly label her guild mate a 'Dork' she couldn't contain her laughter.

Bickslow initially seemed slightly surprised, before taking the comment in stride and finding the humor in it. "You got spunk, kid," The Seith mage said with a lazy grin. He turned around to his guild mates, and Lucy saw the glint of mischief in his eyes. Her own narrowed slightly, the man knew something. Noticing the faint hint of a suppressed smirk had alarms going off in her head; Never let it be said the blonde was not aware of her guild mate's penchants for mischief, pranks, and trouble with a capitol T. The Seith mage was up to something. "Kind of reminds me of you Cosplayer. Whatcha think?"

Lucy's mind was racing through everything that had happened to figure out how best to contain any collateral damage and, if possible, keep herself out of the line of fire when things went down. Coming up empty handed, the celestial mage resigned herself to simply proceeding with caution even as she responded. "You say that like it's a bad thing Bicks. I think it's great that someone else can call you on your bull-shit and keep you in line. Stars know you need it." Lucy smirked at his pout before turning her gaze to the young mage being discussed.

"Hi, I don't believe we've met. I'm Lucy. Regrettably, it seems I must claim the big lug you're talking to as a guild mate of mine. Don't worry though, he's an acquired taste."

Silence answered her as the young girl seemed frozen in place, face blank, eyes wide, as her gaze locked with hers.

Lucy began to feel concerned, even as she heard the girl's guild master, Kaleb, snicker and mutter something resembling "Mental bomb" to his now chuckling siblings. Emzadi was clicking away with her camera, seemingly trying to document everything in the vicinity.

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Rai now understood what some people meant by an out-of-body-experience. It was like she was there, yet wasn't at the same time. Thoughts were racing through her mind too fast for her to grasp onto any one and focus on it, and yet, at the same time she felt eerily calm; like the calm before the storm type calm. Then, everything seemed to finally sink in.

The Starbringer.

The blonde-haired, brown-eyed female sitting before her was the Starbringer. One of, if not _the_ most powerful celestial mages on Earthland. Dear stars! The woman was standing before her, in the flesh! Why couldn't she say anything! Why was she not moving, talking, or doing anything but standing there in shock!? But could you blame her?! Cause, holy shit! This was her effin _idol_ for stars sake!

Strong, warm hands, which she vaguely identified as belonging to Vander, grasped her shoulders and guided her closer to the woman she couldn't tear her gaze away from.

Rai barely registered being sat down in the chair next to Lucy's, or hearing the laughter of her guild mates. She knew her mouth was likely open and 'gathering flies' as her grandmother used to fondly say, but she couldn't really bring herself to care too much at the moment. In the back of her mind, some part of her was listening in on the whispered explanations her guild mates were giving to the other mages at the table about her 'idol worship' of the mage seated next to her.

A few more seconds passed before Rai was able to shake the shock induced fog from her head. She slammed back into the present, and became aware of the warm hand holding one of hers in her lap, and the concerned brown eyes staring into her own.

"—kay?"

"Huh?' she finally managed.

The blonde in front of her smiled kindly, "I asked, are you okay?"

Finally managing to regain control over herself, the redhead ducked her head down, "oh, um, yeah. I'm alright. Sorry 'bout that. Was just surprised is all." She mumbled. The burning in her cheeks letting her know they were likely the same shade as her hair at the moment, "Could have warned me!" She muttered hotly in the direction of her guild master and guild mates.

"And ruin the surprise, Half-Pint?" Vander teased from where he stood a few feet away, a gleeful smirk on his handsome face, "Wouldn't dream of losing _that_ opportunity."

"We wanted to surprise you." Emzadi crooned from behind her camera, a pleased smile on her face.

Cristoff, Thane, and Kaleb simply smiled warmly at her, eyes alight with their laughter. She huffed. While she really wished she'd had some warning, she couldn't express how touched she felt that her older guild mates had done this for her.

Remembering where she was sitting, and now feeling more prepared, she lifted her gaze to meet that of the woman next to her.

"Um, hi," she rasped anxiously, clearing her throat before trying again, "Hi. I'm Rai. Technically, my full name is Raina but I hate going by it. I think it's kind of a mouthful when Rai works just as well. Haha. Oh my god, you're awesome!" Blushing again at what she just blurted out, Rai rushed to clarify, "I mean, I am a _big_ fan! Not the creepy stalker type fan though, heh. Never that! I mean, it's just, I've read all about you, and think you are amazing! I love how you have bonded with your spirits and have tried to do so with my own. I never thought I'd get to actually meet you! I mean, I know Shadow-man and Cris said you'd be here but I didn't actually think you'd be _here_ here. You know? Like at a table, next to me type here. Oh god I'm rambling. I do that when I'm nervous. Sugar boogers! You think I'm crazy now. I promise I'm not. Well, Kaleb says we all have a little insanity in us, but I don't think mines too big yet. Not that it will be, but, um, yeah, still rambling. I'm gonna shut up now."

She ducked her head in embarrassment, feeling the burning sting of tears gathering in her eyes. She had _so_ blown it! Shit! Now her idol thought she was weird, and crazy, and creepy, and wouldn't want to see or be near her _ever_ again. She messed it all up an— ' _Enough of that'_

She sniffled, willing the tears to not fall.

 _'Rai, I'm sorry we didn't warn you beforehand. We just wanted to surprise you since we know how much you wanted the chance to talk with her. And frankly, you didn't mess anything up. If you must know, Lucy thinks you are sweet and adorable, and wants to hug you. Honest! She is thinking all of those things right now.'_ The warm voice of her guild master rang in her head brought Rai out of her miserable thoughts. The young mage took a deep breath and gathered herself.

 _'There we go. Now, where is that brave, strong-minded mage who had a list of questions they were going to interview the Starbringer with? I think Lucy would be more than willing to answer them, but you will never know unless you ask.'_ Kaleb encouraged.

Taking a deep breath, Rai turned to face the feminine giggle sounding from her right. Lucy was smiling and chuckling. Seeing the young mage looking at her, the blonde wizard leaned forward and gave the startled girl a warm hug.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Rai," She smiled fondly at the surprised mage, "Trust me, I get it. I can't tell you the number of times I've had the horrible experience of 'word vomit'. It's the worst isn't it?" Lucy gestured at the Pradesh siblings around them, "I looked up to their dad a lot; you could say he was one of _my_ idols growing up. Well, the first chance I got to meet him I word-vomited all over. Stars, it was horrible."

"You also nearly tackled him in a hug, Cosplayer," Bickslow teased from behind her. The blonde's eyebrow ticked in annoyance at having _that_ little tid bit revealed, but continued. " _Anyways,_ what I was going to say is I understand how difficult it can be meeting someone you've read about or heard of. So how about we start over?" The blonde extended a hand with a cheerful smile.

"Hi, I'm Lucy. I am a celestial mage fro Fairy Tail in Fiore. I like the color pink, and I came to this conference in hopes of finding an apprentice to take on. I am sometimes given the moniker 'Starbringer' but prefer to be on a first name basis with friends. I hope that we can be friends as well."

Rai sniffed before giving a beaming smile, all embarrassment and worries gone, "Hi, I'm Rai. My full name is Raina, but I prefer to go by Rai. I am a celestial mage and have been a member of White Sea in Bosco for about two years now. I like the color purple, and came here to enter an apprenticeship so that I can grow my magic more." The young mage grasped the offered hand, "I would love to be friends."

The two bonding celestial mages missed the cooing from the other female mages present. They continued their discussion in earnest; turning a blind eye to the fond looks, high fives, the clicking of a camera, and other general chatter around them.

"Well, I know you already know some stuff about me, so why don't you tell me about your spirits?" The blond entreated with a smile.

Rai could scarcely believe this was happening. Not only was she seeing and talking to her idol, but her idol was interested in _her_ and _her_ spirit partners.

"Okay, well, um, this is Orion, he's great at tracking and has an amazing sense of direction. He likes to sing too, though he's a little off-key."

Vander snorted, "A _little_?" His comment earned him a whack upside the head by his sister and a frown from his younger guild mate.

"It makes him _happy_ , not everyone can have a perfect singing voice shadow-man." Rai corrected huffily.

"Anyways, these are Canis Major, Dorado*, and Lacerta*. They like to just hang out with me sometimes outside of missions. Canis Major prefers to be called 'Sirius', and he loves cuddles and pocky. Dorado always speaks in rhymes and really likes bubbles. Lacerta gets into all kinds of trouble cause he's attracted to shiny things." The key in discussion glowed, as if the spirit knew they were being talked about.

Lucy grinned, "He sounds like an entertaining fellow."

"The blasted lizard hoards loose change," Emzadi added dryly, taking a sip of her wine.

"Oh, and I just contracted with another spirit before we came here." The girl shared, eyes brightening as she rummaged through her shoulder bag, "I haven't had a chance to put her on my key chain yet, I had to clean it first. Her key was really difficult to get to. I had to dive into one of those underwater caves in the eastern part of the Grass Sea." Rai suddenly noted the stern looks she was getting from her Guild Master and her older guild mates at her comment, "Beck let me go with him on a job to collect some pearls. It wasn't too deep, and he was with me the entire time. I promise." They appeared slightly mollified by that, but Rai made a mental note to warn the Beast Master that Emzadi may be interrogating him once they got back. "Anyways, ah-ha!, here she is," Rai pulled out a golden key, failing to notice the widening eyes and looks of recognition of the Fairy Tail mages around her. "She's my most powerful spirit now. This is—"

"Aquarius." Lucy whispered, her eyes locked on the key.

Rai suddenly became aware of the stiff postures of the other Fairy Tail mages who were divided between looking at her key and watching the Starbringer.

"Um, yeah." Rai confirmed. The young mage glanced to her own guild mates, worried she'd done something wrong and feeling like she was missing something.

Emzadi and Vander shrugged at her, both of them were in the dark as well. Cristoff and Kaleb were watching Lucy who'd gone pensive. Her guild master nodded then, as if he'd suddenly gained an answer. Which, given his magic, was probably likely. The platinum blond noticed her questioning look.

" _You did nothing wrong Rai. There's just a… history, with that key."_ Kaleb gave her a soft smile," _One I think she may be willing to tell you if you ask."_

Gathering her resolve, Rai decided to follow his mental nudge.

"Um, Ms. Starbringer, mam, you know Aquarius?"

The question seemed to finally break the blonde mage out of her reverie. Brown eyes blinked before focusing on the young girl. She studied her a moment before nodding.

"I do." She hesitated, glancing at her own guild mates for a second before reaching into her own key pouch and pulling out… the broken handle of a golden key.

Rai's eyes widened as she recognized the symbol on the handle as being the same one of the key she was holding.

"Aquarius and I used to be contracted; she was my mother's spirit before she was given to me when my mother passed away." The blonde celestial mage explained, her eyes warm and fond as they looked at the key Rai held, "Circumstances came about which ended in her key having to be broken in order to take down one of the worst threats Earthland has faced. Aquarius was the one who suggested the action but, it's been one of my biggest regrets ever since."

Rai sat silent, taking in everything that was said.

"Tartaros?" Cristoff softly clarified.

Lucy nodded. The other Fairy Tail mages had grim and downcast expressions. It was the only way. I know that now, but it took me a while to understand and come to terms with that."

Turning her attention back on Rai, Lucy chuckled, "I'd been looking for her new key ever since I'd been made aware it had been reformed and was back on Earthland. It figures that she would be located in the Grass Sea." She chuckled, "Aquarius always was particular about how her key was handled, and the bodies of water you could summon her from."

Laxus snorted, and Wendy giggled as Bickslow faux-coughed, "Understatement!" he muttered, earning himself a stern look from the celestial mage.

Rai bit her lip, a nervous habit her grandmother had always frowned upon, "Umm, she'd said it was okay to contract with her. You can have her back if you…" she trailed off when Lucy raised her hand and the blonde gave her a fond smile.

"I've had my time as her partner; it's time for the next generation. Trust me, she wouldn't have agreed to a contract if she didn't see something in you she liked, I know I have. Aquarius is very picky with whom she contracts with. You wouldn't want to disappoint her would you?" the older celestial mage teased. Rai blushed, and shook her head shyly.

"So, I know that we haven't been able to talk long but I would be thrilled if you'd consider an apprenticeship with me." Lucy chuckled nervously, completely missing the thunderstruck look of awe and happiness that passed over the younger girl's face. Both of their guild mates did not, however, and were outwardly grinning and fighting back chuckles at how things were playing out.

"I understand if there are some other mages you want to talk to, so you don't have to answer right away. I just—"

"Yes!" Rai blurted, "Yes, I accept! I'd love to apprentice under you!"

Lucy blinked owlishly for a moment at the enthusiastic acceptance, before beaming and sweeping her soon-to-be-apprentice into a hug. "Wicked!"

Rai chuckled at hearing her idol adopt her usual phrase, "Totally!" she agreed. She couldn't wait; She was going to be training under the guidance of her idol! How much more awesome could it get!?

Lucy laughed, pulling the girl into a hug, "Then we can go and register your apprenticeship with me in the celestial records tomorrow."

A few feet away, Kaleb nudged his younger brother and second in command. _"You know, Rai will need an escort with her for the trip to and throughout her stay in Fiore. Interested?"_

The lunar dragon slayer tore his eyes away from his destined mate and his young guild mate to stare in shock at her brother and guild master. _"But the guild?"_ It was a weak protest, and he knew it. He wanted nothing more than to go over to the blonde Fairy Tail mage and claim her then and there.

 _Beck and Emzadi can step in as needed to cover your guild duties. Quit protesting brother, go to her, bond with her, and make me an awesome uncle already!_ The blond mindbender quirked an eyebrow, O _r shall I send Vander in your stead?_

The internal snarl that suggestion prompted out of him got the lunar slayer a smug smirk.

Rolling his eyes in fond exasperation at his sibling, Cristoff started making plans for the trip. He smiled when he realized he could also use the time to pick up Wendy's training during his stay. The sky dragon slayer was good, but her training and knowledge of healing were slightly behind where they should be. The lunar dragon slayer returned his gaze to his soon-to-be mate who was now chatting excitedly with Rai. Gods, he couldn't wait.

Taking a deep breath, he went over to better introduce himself, and set destiny into motion.

…

 ***Dorado: swordfish constellation**

 ***Lacerta: lizard constellation**

 **I look forward to hearing what you think.**

 **I've really enjoyed reading what other authors have been posting and seeing the creativity between all the prompts. I love it! I can't wait to see what is posted next by everyone!**

 **All the best,**

 **JB**


	6. Chapter 6: Particular

**Day 5 has is here!**

 **I'm sorry for the delay in this posting. Life happened and I was pressed for time.**

 **On another note, I just wanted to let you all know that I will be a little later in posting the last three chapters due to a busy schedule these next few days. I will work on them when I can, and hope to have them all up by the end of next week at the latest.**

 **I've really enjoyed reading the other stories published this week, and can't wait to see what everyone comes up with for the remaining prompts.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I own nothing. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, and the lovely Pradesh Family is owned by Desna.**

…

 **Prompt: Particular**

Dragon slayer magic was a rare, almost lost, magic; One with a deep, albeit largely unknown, history. Those wielding it had yet to discover the limits of their magical abilities. Due to this, it was understandable that the small group of mages gifted with dragon magic primarily relied upon trial and error, and learning from one another's experiences.

Upon realizing the gap in the literature, those closest to the dragon slayers joined them in putting together the first ever primary source accounting of dragon slayer magic, and all of the additional abilities, instincts, and other behaviors that came along with it. It was their hope to provide a history and reference for future slayer generations. The group had been officially formed a month prior by the Fairy Tail guild's resident rune, script, and celestial mages after a discussion they'd had about working with their dragon slayer teammates.

In the months following the eclipse gate fiasco in Crocus at the Grand Magic Games, the Council had released Cobra, formerly of the Oracion Seis and Neo Oracion Seis, into the custody of Fairy Tail. The poison dragon slayer was on a probationary status in recognition of his assistance in battling the dragons.

The introduction of the second-generation slayer brought to light the knowledge gap between the different slayer generations. Those that had been taught by dragons not only had more general knowledge, but were also better prepared and able to identify and control the instincts tied with the magic. This led to monthly gatherings of all available dragon slayers in Fiore. Initially, the purpose was for the first and third generation slayers to pass on their knowledge to the second-gens'. It quickly evolved into other discussions, training, and simply socializing with others who could relate to their experiences.

Around the time of the fifth christened 'Meeting of Slayers', Bickslow was visited by his four younger siblings, two of whom were renowned first and third gen slayers themselves. Cristoff and Emzadi had been extended invitations and had attended the meeting out of curiosity. Needless to say, they soon became routine attendees in the following months.

With their draconic partners and siblings away, the remaining Pradesh siblings were swiftly pulled into discussion by the Raijinshuu, Lucy, and Levy. The group soon found them sharing their own experiences with their draconic fellows' abilities, instincts, and other behaviors.

This brings us to the meeting currently being held in the Fairy Tail guild's library.

A runic barrier separates the amassed group from prying ears and ensured complete confidentiality and privacy.

"Have you ever noticed any 'odd' behaviors?" Levy brought up.

Lucy laughed, "Loads! Natsu could be defined by the word in general, but I can name some I've noticed about the others as well."

"Ooh! Story time! Do share" Bickslow encouraged with his trademark tongue-grin.

"Well, to start with, we've already established that slayers in general have enhanced senses. When I first became Natsu's partner, I had to throw out all of my perfumes, a bunch of my hair-care products, and had to change the detergent and body soap I used. He would often break out into hives or get overwhelmed by the strong scents."

The rest of the group nodded their agreement, having experienced similar affects with their own slayers partners and siblings.

"But then it gets a little… weird," the celestial mage continued, "I asked Natsu why he insisted on sleeping in my bed—purely platonic! Just Sleeping!" she quickly clarified upon seeing the smirks of Bickslow and his youngest brother Vander. The men pouted at being denied their fun. "Anyways, I asked him about it, and he said that he was scent-marking."

"Whoa, wait a minute. Scent-marking? As in dog-pee-on-a-tree type scent-marking?" Evergreen clarified.

"Yep, only not as gross."

"Gajeel had mentioned something similar to me once. It's how slayers, and dragons, tell other slayers and dragons what is their property or under their protection." Levy shared.

Xally nodded, "Em and Cris would often cuddle with us for a while as kids if we ever came back from a long trip somewhere."

"They also said it could be something as simple as using a hug to transfer their scent." Vander added, turning to the Raijinshuu with a smirk, "Haven't you found it interesting that for all he seems to dislike a lot of personal contact, Lightning Bolt allows the three of you into his space and doesn't fight or protest you giving him hugs?"

Bickslow gaped at his younger brother, "You mean… he was scent-marking us?" The Seith mage frowned thoughtfully, "I'm not quite sure how I feel about that…it's kind of weird."

"Agreed, and I never thought anything of it before." Evergreen conferred, fan covering her face to hide the light blush at the idea of her leader using such sneaky tactics.

"Laxus is a brilliant strategist. I'm not surprised he found such a secretive way to protect us" Freed loyally supported.

"Then there are the cuddles," Lucy continued, gathering everyone's attention once again, "Slayers in general, even the seemingly socially averse slayers, are tactile by nature. Some don't like to show it, but they are all closet cuddle-bugs at heart."

"Isn't that the truth!" Vander exclaimed, elbowing Bickslow with a Cheshire grin, "Remember how big a cuddler Cris is? And Em was always giving out hugs."

The Seith mage chuckled at the memories, "Yeah, anytime you had a bad dream, Cris was the one you wanted to go to," Bickslow snorted, "Of course, he's always had the strict rule for us that no cuddles will be given unless you are wearing some sort of pajamas. And Em could get a bit overenthusiastic with her hugs; sometimes they were more of a tackle or wrestling match."

"What's with the past tense, brother? She _still_ gets overenthusiastic at times" Xally added with a smirk that made the Fairy Tail mages laughed.

"Lastly," Lucy stated with an amused smile, "all the slayers seem to have certain…particularities."

At the questioning looks on the visiting Pradesh siblings' faces, Levy provided some clarification. "Basically, we've noticed that each slayer, here in Fiore at least, seems to have an interesting… habit. Primarily, it seems to be around what they collect in their 'hoard'."

"Hoard? Like treasure or something?" Xally asked.

The Fairy Tail mages traded looks, "Or something" they responded with amused grins.

"As an example, Laxus has an esteemed preference for fabrics." Freed began.

"Not clothing, no, but literally rolls of fabric," Evergreen explained, "He keeps it hush-hush, but the man has the equivalent of a fashion warehouse in his basement. There are essentially racks upon racks of different fabric rolls."

"At my last count, and that was a few years ago, the guy had little over a hundred rolls down there." Bickslow shared with his now wide-eyed siblings.

"Huh, never figured Lightning Bolt to be a fan of fashion." Vander pondered.

The Fairy Mage snorted, nudging her visored teammate with her fan "And _you_ thought _I_ was bad; you should go with him on one of his 'expeditions'. The man becomes obsessed in getting what he wants and has to look into every shop." Her teammates nodded in agreement, faces slightly pale.

The Seith mage was shaking his head at the memory, "So. Much. Shopping"

His sister giggled at her brother's plight.

"Then there's Gajeel," Levy continued the discussion, "While it's not surprising that the man does collect various pieces of scrap metal, those have nothing on his enormous book collection."

Lucy nodded enthusiastically, "The tough guy is secretly a bookaholic!"

Her fellow bookworm grinned at the rune mage across from her, "He has a lot of rare books that have been out of print for ages too!"

"But Gaj gets really embarrassed if someone finds out or mentions it." Lucy warned, "It was sheer chance that I opened the door to his basement when I was looking for the bathroom."

"And you were in his house because…?" Bickslow teased, gaining a huff from the blonde.

"Gaj, Levy, and I had just gotten back from that translation and treasure hunting job we took in Akane last year. We had stopped by for him to drop things off at his place, since it was on our way to the guild."

"And here I thought Iron Man had managed to convince you two goddesses into a threeso—Ow! Shit, Ever!" The Seith rubbed the back of his head gingerly where his teammate had just whacked him with her fan. Said teammate ignored his pout and glare, instead turning to address the blushing script and celestial mages.

"Ignore him, he forgets his manners at home most days, and thinks everyone needs to hear all of his perverted imaginings."

Bickslow's siblings laughed at his plight, and teased him a little before Freed brought them back to the topic at hand.

"Lucy, didn't you mention Natsu collected mementos last week?"

The blonde rolled her eyes in exasperation, "Oh my stars, yes! He has to have some sort of souvenir from any jobs we go on together. He says it is so he can better remember it."

"But it gets interesting mostly when Natsu gets creative in how he defines 'souvenir', right Lu?" Levy snickered. Her blonde friend narrowed her eyes at the blue-haired script mage.

"You laugh at my pain."

"What are we missing here?" Vander interrupted, eyes gleaming with mischief.

"About a month ago, Natsu picked a mission for us to take down a minor dark guild located in the forest outside of Oaktown. The mission actually went without a hitch since demolition was called for, so we were actually going to receive the entire reward for once. However, in the process, the entire guild hall and everything in it was utterly destroyed. The rubble was partially smelted together, and any of his usual pickings: papers, coins, weapons, jewelry, flags with guild emblems, etc., had either gone up in smoke or were otherwise destroyed."

"…So what did he use as his 'souvenir'?" Xally inquired.

When Lucy only buried her face in her hands, Levy patted her back consolingly, "Before the building was demolished, they'd been fighting the guild master. The man was a lesser requip mage who specialized in daggers. Lucy's clothes were cut up pretty badly, and one of her bra straps had been severed on a lucky throw. It wasn't reparable so she'd thrown it away. But…well…" The script mage snickered.

Evergreen's eyes widened and she let out a snort of laughter. "Don't tell me he…?"

Freed and Xally quickly caught on mere seconds later, the rune mage covering his smile with his hand, "Oh, dear."

The celestial mage raised her head to nod woefully. "Apparently my bra strap being damaged in the fight with the guild master led Natsu to determine that my bra had 'memento' status. I didn't even know he'd stolen it out of the trash can until I saw it hanging on his 'wall of missions' at his house the next day."

By this time, Vander and Bickslow were hugging their sides from the force of their laughter.

Lucy frowned at them, fighting down a blush, "It's not funny!"

"Yes, it is! Haha!"; "Ha! Sorry Cosplayer, but it's hilarious!"

"Sorry, Lu, but they have a point." Levy smiled, trying to fight back her own laughter.

The blonde huffed, "It's bad enough that he took the thing, but to now have to see it hanging on his living room wall?! Ergh! It's embarrassing!"

After another minute or two, Vander and Bickslow finally managed to calm themselves and rejoin the group.

"You know, compared to that, the other Fiorian slayers' hoards don't seem as 'out-there' anymore." Evergreen giggled.

Xally nodded. "Yeah, Cris and Em's collections, I mean 'hoards', seem pretty normal now."

Vander snickered, "Aside from their fascination with pretty and shiny things you mean?"

Lucy perked up, "Shiny things?" she turned to Levy, "That sounds similar to Cobra and Wendy."

The script mage nodded. "Wendy collects copper and gold coins. I heard Carla talking arguing with her about it a few months ago. The girl has quite the collection apparently."

"What about silver coins?" Evergreen asked.

"She either avoids them, or trades them in for copper or gold." Lucy explained, "For some reason, she absolutely despises having any silver coins in or even near her collection."

"Emzadi is similar in her pickiness toward her hoard." Vander noted, "She has a massive collection of beaded jewelry, but for some reason she absolutely abhors anything without a perfect cut or with defects in it."

"It makes buying jewelry for her the biggest pain in the ass." Bickslow agreed. Xally nodded eagerly.

"Not to mention she guards the things with her life."

"Huh, so the females seem to be the more selective hoarders." Freed observed.

"That sounds about right," Lucy considered, "Kinana shared with me once that Cobra collects 'shiny and colorful' bottles—her words not mine— but she said that what made it interesting is that it seems to be almost an unconscious behavior with him."

"How so, Cosplayer?"

"Well, Kinana said that more often than not, Cobra doesn't even recall where or when he picked the bottle up."

Vander snickered. "Let me get this straight. Sexy'n'Poisonous nicks bottles he deems 'colorful and shiny' without any thought about the action?"

"Seems like it. I think it might have to do with him learning how to pick pocket at a young age, but I can't say for sure."

"Hmm, well Cris isn't very discerning in his hoard either, that I can tell at least." Xally offered.

Vander and Bickslow snorted. Seeing Lucy's questioning look, he smirked. "Dear Crissy collects rocks."

"…Rocks?"

"Em-hm. You heard me, rocks." The shadowquip mage quipped back with a grin.

" _Technically_ , they're crystals," Xally amended, "All sizes, shapes, and colors, built _all_ crystals."

Bickslow smirked, "So, basically, yes, Cris collects rocks."

"So Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome collects, of all things, rocks."

"They're _crystals_." Xally mumbled from the side, but even she was biting back a smile at the image.

The group pondered that image, and all the other particular hoarding tendencies of their fellow mages.

"I believe that the general consensus reached here today is that dragon slayers are _odd_."

"Agreed," was the chorused response.

…

 **I look forward to hearing your feedback :)**

 **Until next time,**

 **-JB**


	7. Chapter 7: Huge

**Day 6 has, finally, arrived!**

 **Apologies for the delay, and thank you all for your patience and lovely reviews. My schedule has been super busy, and things won't be slowing down any time soon. With that in mind, I need to change my set deadlines for finishing the remaining two prompts. I WILL be finishing out all the prompts. However, it will likely take me longer than I first estimated due to time constraints and the schedules I have. I apologize for the inconvenience, but life happens. I will continue to work on the last two prompts when I can, and will them as soon as I am able.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I own nothing. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, and the lovely Pradesh Family is owned by Desna.**

 **This prompt was inspired by you wonderful reviewers who expressed interest in the events of Lucy Vs. Hestor mentioned in my 'Lick' chapter. This is for you wonderful people. Enjoy!**

…

 **Prompt: Huge… 'A Huge Mistake'**

Lucy smiled as she took in the lively festivities taking place around her.

She was currently in the White Sea guild hall in Bosco. Following the disbandment of Fairy Tail after Tartaros, the celestial mage had joined Laxus and the male members of the Raijinshuu on their trip to Bosco to visit and stay with Bickslow's family.

Lucy had originally planned to stay in Fiore, but then she'd remembered the handsome young man she'd played a role in rescuing and bringing home from a horrific life in Pergrande's gladiator pits.

Lucy, having been introduced to and quickly enveloped by the welcoming Pradesh Family, had learned about the Ambassador's second son, Zen, and his wife, Ganier. It had been a heart-wrenching story, and the celestial mage had felt for the family's losses. Little had she known that, only a couple of months later, the events of the attack on the Boscan Embassy in Pergrande would be blown wide open.

Three months after the celestial mage had arrived in Bosco, and one month after she had completed testing at the Academy Celestine and been declared S-class, Lucy had taken a mission to patrol the docks in of the town of White Sea. The town had been built around the renowned guild, and thus carried its name. The dock workers had noted that the numbers weren't quite adding up between the number of shipments coming in and being logged compared to those going out. The heightened activity and missing shipments pointed to one thing, black market trading. Bosco had abolished all slave trade and similar merchandise many years back; it was actually one of the first policies Arman had pushed through upon becoming an established Ambassador. That being said, many of the old trading partners, namely Joya, Pergrande, and Seven, had not taken so kindly to the loss of the valuable trading port due to their large investment in those trade rings. In those countries, the slave trade was still alive and thriving. The Boscan embassy had been steadily working with Joya and Seven over the past two years toward placing more restrictions on the trade markets there, if not abolishing slavery all together. They were still in a stalemate with Pergrande, but there was hope that if they could establish seeds for change in Joya and Seven, being two of Pergrande's primary allies and trading partners, they may be able to make some headway in the future.

As she'd expected, during her patrol, Lucy had come across a black market deal between some Pergrandian traders and a group of Boscan dark mages involving a shipment of magical artifacts. Lucy had spied upon the operation and recorded the deal going down before making her move. It had been a nice bonus to find that the silver gate key for Canes Venatici was included among the artifacts being sold.

After swiftly taking down all individuals involved in the deal, the celestial mage had used Gemini's powers to copy the leaders of both groups to find out if other deals had been scheduled. Imagine her surprise when she'd discovered that, not only was the Pergrandian leader a noble heavily favored by the King, but had knowledge on the location and true identity of the Pergrande gladiator known as 'The Dark Eagle'. Needless to say, the celestial mage had promptly informed the Pradesh family whom she'd grown quite attached to.

A retrieval mission had been planned and successfully orchestrated mere weeks after the news of Zen's survival had been made known. The Archangel mage now resided at the primary Pradesh estate with his family and their guests, as he adjusted to life outside of the pits. The homecoming had been four weeks ago. Since then, Zen had been working with several tutors on improving his Boscan and spending time reacquainting himself with his father and brother, as well as his other siblings that had been brought into the family after he'd been taken. While she'd given the family their space to get to know one another, Lucy had also spent some time visiting with the recently recovered mage.

Zen had taken to spending more and more time around and with Lucy, much to the equal parts exasperation and glee of his younger brother Bickslow and Bickslow's teammates who all viewed the sweet mage as a younger sister. The two became close, and one could often find them hanging out together in the large library housed in the Pradesh Estate.

The Archangel mage, after several months of recovery and lessons, had just been initiated as a new mage of the White Sea guild. This was the current cause for celebration. Although, Lucy mused, White Sea never truly needed much of a reason to party and have a good time, just like Fairy Tail.

The celestial mage finished off her amazing strawberry daiquiri and peered around the crowd of dancing bodies. Laxus, Freed and Bickslow had gone on a small mission the day before and were scheduled to be back within the hour. Vander had been cajoled on stage, though very little urging was truly needed. The Shadowquip's strong, husky tenor brought to mind molten sex, writhing bodies, and heated passion. Lucy had to fan herself a bit after taking in that appealing form of leather-clad temptation. Bickslow had been right, the man was trouble with a capital T. Granted, it was times like tonight when the celestial mage found that she may not be so adverse to getting a piece of that trouble to touch, or better yet, taste. Shaking herself out of that heated train of thought, the blonde noted Cristoff had been pulled on stage to play guitar, and Farron, decorated ambassador that he is, was rocking it on the drums. Xally and Kaleb were absent, having been called out to another of the guild's branches to deal with a short issue that'd come up. The sweet water mage had smirked not-so-innocently before they left and instructed Lucy that she would have to take their place in controlling the wilder of the Pradesh siblings; namely Emzadi, Bickslow, and of course, Vander. Speaking of Emzadi, the solar dragon slayer had been an enthusiastic dance partner for the celestial mage. The two ladies had been tearing up the dance floor together until Lucy had begged off to grab a drink and take a short respite. Damn dragon slayers and their stamina! The tall blonde slayer was, even now, out on the dance floor, changing partners on a whim and having a blast.

Searching for the last of the attractive siblings, Lucy frowned upon coming up empty. Where was Zen? The Archangel mage had been sitting with her before Emzadi had pulled her off to dance. The celestial mage had been reluctant at first, knowing that the ex-gladiator was still adjusting to being in crowded spaces and keeping his heightened, battle-trained senses under control. Zen, due to his unfortunate upbringing, was wary and disinclined toward engaging in any intimacy/sexual contact with males. While he was alright around his family, and a few others, he disliked and avoided all non-platonic close-contact of any kind with other males. Being at the guild was difficult for him at times due to his appeal often attracting interest from both genders. He'd already had to politely decline no less than six invitations to share pleasure within the first ten minutes of entering the guild that evening.

The celestial mage's gaze sharpened as she slowly walked her way through the crowd, scanning for the dark mahogany hair of the mage she sought. She'd just talked with Beck, the beast master mage who'd she'd left in discussion with Zen, and been told that the Archangel mage had gone to grab a drink at the bar not even twenty minutes ago. Lucy's frown deepened, she'd been at the bar for roughly half an hour and hadn't seen Zen there at all. While it was possible he had found a partner to share pleasure with, as many mages were doing, Lucy had a feeling in her gut that something was wrong.

Beck, seeing her concern, asked if she'd like his help finding Zen, which she readily accepted with a grateful smile. As Lucy had already cleared the South and West wings of the main floor, the beast master volunteered to check the East end of the dance floor while she continued on toward the Northern corner. As she continued her search, Lucy grew more worried as the feeling of dread settled more heavily in her. Her magic was becoming restless, as if sensing a disturbance she hadn't noticed yet. Trusting her gut, she following the pull of her magic toward one of the walls of the guild's main floor lined with privacy alcoves. The soft pillows and comfy furniture furnishing the spaces were cleaned after every use, and were utilized for a variety of purposes; the intricate runes around the curtains and the control panel of the rooms ensured the utmost privacy and blocked out sound on both sides should the user activate the designated setting. They were used for partners sharing pleasure, reading a book, taking a nap, even strategizing before a mission. Now, they were mostly occupied by parties engaging in the former. As she passed by several occupied alcoves a group of voices drew her gaze to one at the end.

Looking over at the small group conversing before the alcove's entrance had Lucy moving behind a pillar so she could listen in better and not be seen. While she had quickly bonded with a large number of White Sea's mages, there were a select few members who had set her teeth on edge. The small group of five mages had always made her magic stir in wariness and defense whenever they were near.

First, there were the twin plant mages, Flora and Fauna. The two ladies had a known kink for restraints and light bondage; at least that was what Vander had said when Lucy had asked about them. The Shadowquip was one of the few to know about her slight unease around the small group. Myron, an illusion mage, while not powerful, was cunning in his implementation of subtle illusions blending into an individual's already present surroundings. Then there was Soka, a 'wannabe-poison-expert' as Bickslow called him. Following his interest in becoming involved in the Sudepah order, the poison mage had recently started directing his studies and magic down a different path involving creation of aphrodisiacs and other 'sense-enhancing' resources.

Lastly, and the primary leader of the group, was a Boscan celestial mage named Hestor. While the white-blond haired male was appealing like many of his Boscan counterparts, something about the mage's personality and ambitions rubbed Lucy the wrong way. Hestor held four of the Black Keys, in addition to two silver keys on his belt. While not like Angel or Karen, the mage didn't have a close relationship with his spirits, and tended to focus more on their power. She'd never heard of him using them solely as weapons, but the way he discussed them didn't make him much better than the other two aforementioned celestial mages in her book. He'd been one of the members who'd been quick to proposition Zen earlier in the evening. From her observations over the past few months, Hestor was not often turned away, and didn't take it easily when he was.

There was also the fact that Zen was especially susceptible to celestial mages, as she and his family had found out when she'd first met the man. Lucy had luckily been able to gather enough presence of mind and control of her faculties to push him away and step back to clear the air and prevent them from following the strong urging of their magic's to bond and blend. However, following the event, they'd been able to find literature explaining the ties between Archangel mages and Celestial mages. The magical pull was meant to ensure the continuance of Archangel magic, guaranteeing that it would be passed on to new generations. While she would never want for any magic to be lost forever, Lucy truly hated how Zen's magic would basically strip away his control and place him at the mercy of any nearby celestial mage. It was basically a magic-induced rape and enslavement of the Archangel mage. Lucy had made Zen a promise that she would never let her magic take away his will, and stated that she refused to take his freedom of choice. Zen's eyes had brightened with tears and he'd pulled her into a tight hug. Lucy had enjoyed the hug, though she'd been fighting her magic's pull to kiss him and take him the entire time. The internal battles were worth it though. Having to be careful of her alcohol consumption so as to maintain her wits and control about her at all times when he was in the vicinity was a small price to pay for being able to build a strong friendship with the man.

It was this friendship and her intent to guard and protect him from the natures of his very magic which had Lucy honing in on the group before her now.

"Hestor got him?!" Flora or Fauna, Lucy really had trouble telling them apart, asked eagerly.

"Ready and waiting," Myron assured, "Hestor was right. The guy's magic makes him attracted to celestial mages. He didn't have to do much more than walk up and make eye contact with him before he was following behind Boss like a puppy, all eager to please."

"It doesn't look like I'll even need to use any of my supplies," The poison mage chuckled.

"Mmm," The other twin licked her lips. "Think the Boss will be open to sharing? I've wanted a taste since the man first came into the building."

"Down girl," Myron teased, "Hestor is finishing taking his turn now, but said we'd be free to join in a couple of minutes." The illusion mage winked. "He left the curtain 'open' for visitors."

"I heard he hasn't taken a male for pleasure since he came home," Soka shared, "We'll just have to see if we can enlighten him on the pleasures being with another male can bring."

That was it! Lucy couldn't take hearing any more of this. How dare they! The celestial mage had frozen in horror, easily piecing together what had happened to Zen, and what was currently happening to her handsome friend. Hestor and his groupies had crossed the line! Her eyes hidden in the shadows of her bangs, Lucy mentally called to her keys which she now kept to holding in a requip storage space. Hearing her spirits knew the plan and were ready for action, she requiped her whip and stepped out behind the pillar. She was on top of the mages before they'd even noticed her. The twins were swiftly taken down and bound in magic-cancelling rope, courtesy of Virgo, within the next second. Myron turned at the sound and barely had time to register the sight in front of him before a strong right hook sent the illusionist soaring into the wall some twenty feet behind, his head meeting the plaster with a loud 'Crack'. The illusionist's body fell limply to the ground right as knee-to-the-gut and head-kick combo were dished out upon the shocked poison mage. He went down and didn't get up. Virgo trussed the two males up before joining her master before the alcove.

Around them the party continued, undisturbed and unaware of what had occurred. That would soon change. Ripping the curtain aside, the blonde mage's rage increased ten-fold until a dark, violent aura practically surrounded her. _This_ is what finally drew the attention of a few mages nearby, and news quickly moved through the crowd. In the back of her mind, Lucy was aware of the music cutting off and a thick silence descending around her, but her focus was on the scene before her. Hestor was astride Zen, sweet Zen whose eyes, while glazed and hazy, still showed pain and unease. Upon sighting her, however, a glimmer of recognition and hope entered them. She could see some of the haze lift as her own magic ensconced the area and curled around the Archangel. Hestor remained largely unaware of the intruder, too focused on getting his pleasure from the coerced source beneath him. As such, he was taken entirely by surprise when a glowing chord wrapped itself around his neck, yanked him off the built form of the Archangel, and tossed him across and through the wall of the guild, to land outside in one of the combat practice rings.

No one in the crowd dared move a muscle as Hestor was shot through the wall then pursued by a golden blur. This is the scene that the recently returned Raijinshuu, Xally, Kaleb, and Thane walked in on seconds later. Sensing the thrumming power of celestial magic and the enraged thoughts from the celestial mage they'd grown fond of, Laxus and Kaleb quickly rushed toward the gaping hole in the wall. This seemed to break everyone else from their shocked stupor and there was a mass exodus to see the dueling mages outside. The Pradesh siblings and the former Fairy Tail mages were at the front until they neared the wall line with the privacy alcoves. Cristoff and Kaleb paused in passing the torn open alcove upon spying their older brother in disarray inside.

"Zen?!"

The lunar slayer did a quick scan off the groggy mage while Kaleb skimmed his thoughts. The faces of both mages darkened at what they found. "The fuck!?" Cristoff seethed, "Who—?"

"Hestor." Kaleb intoned, face grim.

Zen shook his head, the haze being pushed away by his brother's magic, "I didn't want to but I couldn't stop myself. Fucking pull!" Anger and resentment were prominent in the Archangel's voice.

Another snarl brought everyone's attention to Emzadi standing behind them with their other siblings. The solar slayer had murder in her eyes, "Regardless, your hesitance and rejection earlier this evening should have been deterrent enough. Your magic ensured it can't be considered rape by law as you were 'willing', but it was as good as. The bastard!"

"He'll pay for this." Vander affirmed, eyes focused and promising pain.

Kaleb tilted his head to the side, "Not necessary," he murmured, awe and surprise coloring his voice, "Someone is handling it."

"Must be the person who handled these guys as well," Xally's voice brought their attention to the four beaten and bound mages just outside the alcove area.

"Hector's groupies," Bickslow observed with a frown. The Seith's eyes narrowed on the bruising now forming on Soka's unconscious face, "Wait a second, I know that bruise imprint… shit!" His eyes widened in realization, "Cosplayer!?"

A loud explosion from outside drew everyone's gaze once again to the hole in the wall.

Eyes wide at the surge in familiar celestial energy, Vander cursed, "You mean to tell me that sweet and sassy Ms. Sunshine did this?"

The group, now including Zen, made their way outside. Eyes widened and mouths dropped open in awe and shock of the sight meeting their eyes. Lucy was surrounded in an aura of her magic, eyes glowing gold. She was unmarked and seemed fine were it not for her immense, visible aura she projected, and the pissed off expression on her face that made everyone watching thankful her ire was not directed at them. That privilege was given to the mage at the other end of the decimated field. There was no other way to describe it, really. Deep furrows and craters littered the ground. Boulders and trees were strewn around the field, and scorch marks littered almost every surface. In the midst of it all, Hector was shakily pulling himself out of a crater. The Boscan mage looked fearfully at the glowing form before him. "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry! P-Please!" he begged.

"No, you're not." The goddess in front of him hissed, "But you will be." She promised with a crack of her whip, "You will never force yourself on someone or take advantage of their magic's nature _ever_ again! You shamed your magic and yourself with your decision."

A sparkling shower of light indicated a spirit's arrival. "Punishment, Princess?"

Golden eyes narrowed menacingly on the cowering mage, drawing a whimper, "Yes, Virgo. It's time for punishment."

"Scary Lucy's back!" Bickslow whispered from his hiding spot behind Cristoff.

The other Pradesh siblings turned to look at their fearful brother. They also noticed Freed trying to edge himself behind Laxus, whose face had rapidly paled at the sight before them.

Before anything more could be said, Lucy's voice drew their attention back to the fight, if it could even be called that with how one-sided it was. Hestor didn't stand a chance.

"Everyone deserves to have choices, and that freedom should never be taken away; Not even if it is their very magic driving it to be so! You shall be shown the error of your actions. Stardress Cancer!"

Emzadi nudged Zen, a smirk on her face. "Looks like you have a guardian angel to fight for you."

Zen shook his head, unable to pull his eyes away from the powerful mage before him. While he felt the pull of his magic toward her even now, he was aware that it wasn't as strong as previous times. He realized, with an ache in his chest, that Lucy's magic was protecting him even then; protecting his will; protecting his freedom of choice, even when it had the option of binding him to her for all eternity and strengthening itself from such a bond. The blonde mage's heart was greater than any Zen had ever known, and he felt safe with her. He felt protected; a new, but not entirely unpleasant, feeling for someone from his background.

"No," he smiled, awe crossing his features as he regarded the beauty laying waste to the field and other mage, "No, she's protecting my freedom."

Kaleb suddenly let out a slew of curses, grabbing and shoving his siblings back toward the guild, "Everyone get back!"

"Stardress, Aquarius!"

The eyes of the former Fairy Tail mages widened in realization and horror.

"Shit!" Laxus cursed, "Freed! The barrier's around the field won't hold! We need a rune wall, now!"

The rune mage rushed to comply, and barely finished casting the necessary runes before a massive wave slammed into it and wiped out everything on the field."

"Stardress, Leo!"

"Double shit! Freed!" Bickslow shouted.

"Everyone cover your eyes!" The rune mage ordered. Moments later a blinding light encompassed the field, and several explosions were heard.

"Stardress, Cancer! Taurus, Scorpio, unison raid!"

"Anything for yooou, Miss Lucy!"

"We are!"

"Sandstorm Axe: Aldabaran!" The voices of Taurus and Scorpio called.

"Stardress, Taurus!"

As the sand storm stopped buffeting the protective barrier, silenced enveloped the area.

As the dusty haze slowly cleared, soft footsteps approached the group of siblings and Fairy Tail mages. The rest of the White Sea guild filled the area behind them. A shadowy figure soon took shape. Stopping a few feet away the silhouette tossed a large mass toward the group. The bald, soaked, burned and heavily beaten figure of Hestor lay at their feet. The dust finally cleared, revealing Lucy in her Taurus Stardress. The blonde was lightly panting from the magical exertion but only seemed slightly ruffled in appearance.

The blonde coolly flipped her long hair over her shoulder before bowing to Kaleb.

"I apologize, Master Kaleb. I let my anger get the better of me. It won't happen again." Straightening, she observed the hole in the guild wall behind them, "I will also pay for all damages to the guild hall. And I will help Virgo fix the practice field to its former state tomorrow once I've recovered my magic."

Turning her gaze down at the crumpled form at their feet, she grimaced, "I suppose he'll need some medical care. I'll leave that in your capable hands, Cristoff."

The blonde, not addressing the looks of shock, awe, and surprise being sent her way, then proceeded to walk passed the group and calmly exit the guild to head back to the Pradesh estate.

Everyone was silent for a while longer as they digested what had just happened; Vander, being Vander, didn't let it last long. He gave a low wolf-whistle, which brought Kaleb out of his surprised state to cuff him upside the head. "Down boy."

The mindbender turned his attention back to the mage at his feet, and sighed, "Cristoff…?"

The Lunar slayer grimaced, but nodded, albeit reluctantly, "On it."

"Damn. Remind me never to piss Ms. Sunshine off." Vander hummed with a smirk.

Xally snickered, patting her youngest brother on his shoulder, "There's a reason all stories about the Furies cast them as women, dear brother."

Emzadi gave a fanged smile of agreement.

As the crowds slowly made their way back inside, all murmuring over what had happened. Kaleb was quick to issue orders to not spread or talk about what'd happened upon the request of Zen himself. They knew their Father would not take what had happened to Zen lightly and the Archangel mage just wanted to put the incident behind them and move toward the future.

As his older brother left with the intent on hunting down his blonde warrior maiden, Kaleb couldn't help the smile that covered his face. His brother's future would be bright indeed with that spitfire at his side.

…

 **I look forward to hearing your feedback :)**

 **Until next time,**

 **-JB**


	8. Chapter 8: Doxy

**Day 7 is here at last!**

 **Thank you, dear readers, for all of your patience, kindness, and lovely reviews; You really know how to keep a lady motivated!**

 **I appreciate your patience in the times between these last few prompts. I will endeavor to have the next, and last, prompt up sometime next week at the latest. Classes start up again tomorrow, so I've been busy finalizing details for them and my practicum.**

 **I apologize for any errors. I've given it my best shot, but some things might have still slipped through. Let me know if you see anything.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, and the lovely Pradesh Family is owned by Desna.**

…

 **Prompt: Doxy**

 _ **[Definition—**_ _ **a lover or mistress; prostitute]**_

Honey-brown eyes scanned her surroundings, her face maintaining the blank façade her tutors had spent years drilling into her. While her gaze came across dismissive, her thoughts were anything but. Damn Hisui for sending the request, and double damn the perverted old man for agreeing to it in the first place. True, the guild needed the financial backing and the good graces with the royal family accepting this request would garner, but why did it have to be _her_?

She paused and gave a mental sigh; then again, she would be one of the few in her guild who could perform the request with no chance of destroying the dance hall, palace, or half the capitol. Take into account the fact that embassy representatives from several of the surrounding nations were present, and it was practically an international incident waiting to happen.

Resigning herself to her fate for the evening, Lucy grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, quickly downed it to take the edge off of her frustration, and grabbed another as she continued her rounds. She didn't dare stay idle in one place too long. She didn't know what was worse, that fact that she was being propositioned by every other male she came across, or the way her airway was restricted by the fucking awful corset she'd been asked (read *ordered*) to wear. She'd thought she'd seen the last of the blasted restricting piece of tormenting fabric when she'd abdicated her inheritance. Spotting the gray haired Lord of some textile industry based in the Western part of Fiore making his way toward her, she suppressed a shudder. Stars, she would gladly wear a blasted corset every day for the next year if it meant she would stop being propositioned to be some old cockroach's new live-in doxy. She hid a grimace behind taking another sip form her glass as the old lecher started talking to her. Giving a mental eye roll she took another sip. Honestly, did he really think she wouldn't notice the fact that his gaze did not once make it above her breasts? The man's hanging jowls and pot belly spoke of over-indulgence, and the excessive cologne did nothing to cover the strong scent of arthritic cream surrounding him. Blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, dear stars would the man ever shut up?! The lecher cleared his throat before leaning in, it took every childhood lesson she'd had hammered into her to keep her from reactively leaning away. ' _Here we go,'_ she thought, starting a mental countdown, ' _Slimy proposition in 5…4…3…2...'_

"Ah, Lady Heartfilia, you are a decadent rose in full bloom. Reminds me of your mother; light of the balls she was. You definitely inherited your…" he paused to cast a sleazy look over her body, " _finer attributes_ from her." The man's raspy attempt at a seductive purr made her choke down the laughter bubbling in her throat. Dear Mavis, did that actually work on people?!

The polite smile on her face felt like it would shatter at any moment, ugh! She needed a shower after this.

"I was well acquainted with your father, you know? We'd even been in discussions of joining our… businesses. Regrettably he passed on before anything could be finalized."

"Ah, yes, he is still missed. However, I relinquished all claims to those ties of my name long ago. I am an active-duty mage now." She coolly informed him, a beatific smile in place.

"Yes, I'd heard of that, yet here you are today." He cast another apprasing look. "No matter, there is still much we can discuss, such as your re-entry into the gentry, perhaps. I'm sure you've seen the hardships the lesser classes face, and wanted to extend my assistance and comfort. Opportunity waits for no man, so what say you and I break away from these masses to discuss our… unfinished business?" The man's beady eyes locked onto her bountiful bosom once again, and she stiffened her spine to suppress the shudder at the sight of his tongue licking his lips.

"I acknowledge the offer, but must politely decline. You see, I have become quite enamored with my current lifestyle, and do not plan to change it any time soon. I don't believe I have anything to offer or discuss with you today, Lord Cavensy." She made to turn away and exit the conversation, but a meaty, sweaty hand clasped around her wrist. The blonde internally grimaced. Curse her fair skin, that was going to leave a mark, and Natsu would have a fit. Once he saw it.

"Come now, dear lady, so modest. You've had your flighty endeavors, but don't you think it time to honor your lineage by reclaiming the birth rites left to you. I can help you with that. Your father was a cunning investor, and your mother's… assets, well preceded her. I'm sure we could cut quite a deal that would benefit all parties involved."

The nerve! While Lucy knew it was an established part of the Fiorian nobility to see and treat females as something barely better than cattle, she was hitting even her high threshold of how much she could take of being appraised as a potential broodmare. Her eyes became cold, and she opened her mouth to unleash her sharp tongue on the cock-stain in front of her when a smooth tenor interjected itself. With it, a tanned hand grasped lord Cavensy's and prompted the old codger to release his grip.

"I believe the lady has made her stance quite clear, Milord. From where I'm from, a refusal politely given is politely received and respected. I had thought Fiorian culture was of similar mind, does that not hold true?"

 _'Dear stars, I'm going to need new panties,'_ was the first thought that went through the celestial mages head upon taking in the lithe, muscular build, the smooth accented voice, and the shoulder-length mahogany hair streaked with blonde and red. It wasn't until the man turned to address her that recognition hit upon seeing the familiar baby blue eyes in the tanned face.

"Farron—I mean, Ambassador Pradesh?" She cursed her stumble in the 'proper' address for his station.

Blue eyes twinkled in amusement as the handsome man smiled, "Hello, Lucy, or is it Lady Heartfilia for tonight."

 _ **ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**_

… _Moments Earlier…_

 _ **oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**_

Farron Pradesh artfully extracted himself from the avid discussion on foreign trade routes with the Encan and Minstrelian embassy representatives. While he enjoyed his line of work it could be very tiresome. The Boscan Ambassador had actually been looking forward to having a layover at his family's estate following a trip to Iceberg when he'd been contacted by the Embassy. His father was still tied up with negotiations for a new skyport being built in the northern tip of Joya and would be unable to represent their country at the gala honoring the official naming of the Fiorian Princess as heir-apparent.

The man knew that he would be the only Boscan emissary available to make the trip and represent his country among the other nations' delegations. Resigning himself to putting off his week of rest until after the gala, Farron sent his acceptance and notified the air ship's captain of their change in destination.

Scanning the crowds, Farron noted that all of Fiore's nobility had made an appearance, in addition to select representatives from the Council and some of the country's mage guilds. He knew almost everyone here, but through purely professional channels. His brother, Bickslow, had shared that Fairy Tail was asked to send a representative to the gala, but hadn't been able to say who it was. Master Makarov was apparently keeping it a secret for some reason. He'd kept an eye out for the familiar guild emblem but had yet to spot the mage representing his brother's guild. Personally, he'd been hoping it would be one of Laxus, Freed, Mirajane, or Lucy. Farron couldn't see Master Makarov being willing to send any of his other 'brats' to such a high-politic function. His brother had regaled him and their other siblings with the various stories of destruction of the majority of Fairy Tail's guild members. Taking a glass of champagne from a passing server, he gave a mental sigh, what he wouldn't give for some real company. Presently he'd been dealing with people who were purely after the benefits of his position, interested in using him as a connection with his father, or were unable to hold an intelligent conversation for long past initial introductions.

Noticing the assessing gazes being sent his way by the 'Match-Making Mothers'—as his brother Vander would say— of the Fiorian nobility, Farron decided it would be best to remain on the move. Those women were ruthless and nigh-impossible to shake once they latched their claws into you. He shuddered at the thought. While the eldest Pradesh sibling was openly shared in pleasure with others, his station and lineage made him a prime target for the more conservative nobility circles prominent in Fiore. The Boscan Ambassador was preparing himself to delve into the crowds again when he heard it.

"Ah, Lady Heartfilia, you are a decadent rose in full bloom. Reminds me of your mother; light of the balls she was. You definitely inherited your…finer attributes from her." A man's raspy voice carried over from somewhere to his left. Lady Heartfilia. Heartfilia… Lucy!

Tamping down on his eagerness at the possibility of finding a familiar face and getting a break from his diplomatic duties, Farron deftly maneuvered his way in that direction.

The Boscan Ambassador was inevitably stopped and held up every few steps by other guests inviting him to converse and visit. The Ambassador fixed his most charming smile in place and used all his diplomacy skills and experience to swiftly acknowledge and politely decline or redirect the conversations he was pulled into while slowly, but steadily, making his way to his destination. Farron was beginning to think he was never going to make it as he worked to politely excuse himself from a merchant guild representative and his admiring wife. The man droned on about the impact the shift in the westerly winds off the coast of Veran would have on the trade routes connecting Joya and Stella. His wife wasn't much better, making eyes at Farron and sending him flirty and inviting looks. Finally managing to excuse himself from the conversation, Farron allowed a breath of relief upon finding himself at the edge of the gathering. He could just make out a head of blonde hair gathered into an elegantly bun and side braids near one of the columns lining the room. Drawing near, he picked up more of the conversation. "I'm sure you've seen the hardships the lesser classes face, and wanted to extend my assistance and comfort. Opportunity waits for no man, so what say you and I break away from these masses to discuss our… unfinished business?"

Farron could now make out the features of her conversation partner. He was an older gentleman who was a prominent figure in Fiore's textile industry, Lord Cavensy, he believed.

Farron's sharp eyes took in Lucy's tense figure, and slowed down. He pretended to admire some of the elegant paintings adorning the walls around them even as he listened in. He'd assess the situation a bit more before deciding if he should step in. He remembered Lucy's diplomatic skills and sharp tongue from the stories his brother had shared. He'd not had the opportunity to see that side of the blonde spit-fire in their past meetings, but he knew she was more than able to carry herself in this setting.

The ambassador found himself frowning as he observed the older Lord's beady eyes remain locked onto the beautiful mage's chest and never rise.

"I acknowledge the offer, but must politely decline. You see, I have become quite enamored with my current lifestyle, and do not plan to change it any time soon. I don't believe I have anything to offer or discuss with you today, Lord Cavensy."

Farron hid a smile behind a sip of his drink. _That_ sounded reminiscent of the spit-fire Bickslow portrayed in his stories. The woman had a keen mind, and an even sharper tongue.

Seeing the man reach out and grab Lucy's wrist as she turned to walk away had Farron openly frowning now. He'd a good understanding from the beginning what his blonde friend was being propositioned with, but knew it was her decision to make. In Bosco, the first refusal would be the only one needed, and it would be respected. Here in Fiore, that did not seem to be the case. Setting his glass aside, the Ambassador readied himself to step in as the man continued.

"Come now, dear lady, so modest. You've had your flighty endeavors, but don't you think it time to honor your lineage by reclaiming the birth rites left to you. I can help you with that. Your father was a cunning investor, and your mother's… assets, well preceded her. I'm sure we could cut quite a deal that would benefit all parties involved."

Seeing the celestial mage's hands clench into fists was all the sign he needed. Quickly crossing the short distance between them, Farron laid a firm hand around the man's wrist. His sudden appearance, and the light pressure he applied, had the man releasing his grip.

"I believe the lady has made her stance quite clear, Milord. From where I'm from, a refusal politely given is politely received and respected. I had thought Fiorian culture was of similar mind, does that not hold true?"

The Lord spluttered out a nonsensical response, before quickly excusing himself and departing. Farron then turned to meet startled brown eyes.

"Farron—I mean, Ambassador Pradesh?" The blonde tried and failed to hide her wince at the slip in decorum.

Blue eyes twinkling in amusement at her slip, Farron smiled, "Hello, Lucy, or is it Lady Heartfilia for tonight."

The celestial mage relaxed and gave him a bright smile, "It's Lucy, just Lucy. After all, I've always counted us as friends."

"Lucy, then," he acknowledged with a grin, "Then I must insist you call me Farron, as I do not care for my friends to address me so formally."

"Indeed." The spritely blonde acknowledged. "Well then, Farron, may I be as bold as to ask for your prolonged company this fine evening? I have learned that it is better to have a companion when traversing shark infested waters."

"It would be my privilege, dear lady," He teased, playing along. "I fear I may need your protection from the circling factions as well."

"Oh?" A dainty eyebrow rose in question, even as soulful brown eyes gleamed with humor and mischief, "I don't suppose these circling predators would be the 'Match-Making Mothers' so-labeled by a mutual acquaintance of ours?"

"The very same," He confirmed gravely.

"Be strong love," she patted his arm consolingly as he paraded her out to walk the palace gardens, "They can smell fear."

"I feel much safer now that my warrior maiden of the stars has arrived at my side. May they fear your swift grace, keen wit, and even sharper tongue."

The Ambassador internally applauded himself at making the blonde beauty beside him burst out in unrestrained laughter. Gods, it was a glorious sound. Farron could openly admit, at least to himself, that he had been intrigued by the blonde mage since they were first introduced a year ago. Their meetings since then had been short and sporadic at best due to their differing schedules and commitments. But oh, how he enjoyed his time with her. He knew his feelings. He knew how he felt about her was different from anything he'd felt about someone else before.

Chuckles dying down, Lucy nudged him playfully. "I thought you liked my sharp tongue?" she faux-pouted, bringing his gaze to her lips.

The couple paused in their walk, turning to face one another.

"Absolutely," His husky voice assured, sending a pleasant shiver down her spine at the sound, "It is an admirable trait." He then smirked, "Though, as an acquaintance of mine has pointed out to me in the past, it may be an acquired taste." She snorted.

"Well then, by all means," she leaned forward, brown eyes glowing with a heated invitation, "Taste away."

He felt his restraint break, but honestly couldn't bring himself to care. "Gladly," he rasped. Tan hands cradled her face lovingly even as he brought his lips down to roughly meet hers in a kiss that spoke of passion, heat, and hope for the future.

Lucy didn't know how much time had passed while she enjoyed the taste and feel of the amazing man in her arms. All she knew, when they finally broke apart for air, was that she wanted more.

To hell with the pomp and circumstance, she'd done her part, made her appearance, the rest of the night was hers.

"My hotel room is a block away." She invited. Heated, baby blue eyes met passionate, molten brown.

"Lead the way, love."

…

" **Whew!" *Fans herself***

 **That got a little steamy toward the end. Sorry-not-sorry for cutting off where I did but….um… As I'd stated in the beginning, this is my first time publishing what I write for others to see and review. While the wonderful and thoughtful reviews have done loads to bolster my confidence in my writing, publishing a detailed sex scene requires an entirely different level of confidence.**

 **It is the next step, and I have already been trying my hand at it (unpublished, of course) but damn! Can you blame me?! Just look at the bar of expectations set in this genre! No pressure my ass!**

 **Anyways, it shall (hopefully) come in due time.**

 **Thank you all for your patience in the times between these last few prompts. I will endeavor to have the next, and last, prompt up sometime next week at the latest. Classes start up again tomorrow, so I've been busy finalizing details for them and my practicum.**

 **I look forward to hearing what you all thought of this chapter. Again, if anyone is interested in adopted this or any of my other prompts into a longer story line, be my guest. I just ask that you let me know so I can enjoy reading what you come up with.**

 **Best Wishes!**

 **-JB**


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